Tales of the Forgotten Memories
by The Forever Young One
Summary: Lloyd grew up a normal teenager, never knowing who his real dad was, and he was raised by dwarf. But one day, he meets the man he suspects to be his father. What happens when he joins them for the Journey of Regeneration? NOT YAOI OR INCEST!
1. The Death of a Loved One

**Tales of the Forgotten Memories  
**

**_Ch. 1: The Death of a Loved One_**

**  
**_**SilverMoon:** Hello again!  
**Lloyd:** ...I swear, you are way too happy sometimes...  
**Me:** Aw...someone needs a hug!  
**Lloyd:** NO!! Stay away you crazy woman! -runs out of room-  
**Me:** ...-sniffle-  
**Kratos:** Look now Lloyd, you made her sad.  
**Me:** No..its alright...just say the disclaimer...-sniffle-  
**Kratos:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. -goes after Lloyd to give him a stern talking to-  
**Me:** Onto the story..._

* * *

A thirteen year old boy sat in a wooden two story house, at a table, attempting to get his homework done. He slammed his fist down on the wooden table in frustration. "Arg! If two minus three is one and you times that by six, then why isn't five one of the answers?!" He growled.

"Because me dear boy, the answer to that question be negative six, not five." A dwarf said as he walked out of the kitchen. "Now, eat yer dinner before it gets cold." The teenager looked down at the food that was placed in front of him.

"Thanks dad." His stomach grumbled slightly. In doing so, the teen blushed slightly.

"Good, yer learning your manners Lloyd." The dwarf smiled slightly and walked out of the room, leaving Lloyd to eat his dinner in silence. Except for the occasion fork scraping plate sound as he ate his dinner. He quickly cleaned the plate and stood, taking the plate and fork into the kitchen. When he got back, he sat down to do his homework again.

_-Later that Night-_

Lloyd stood up from the table, the chair making a grinding sound as it slid across the floor. "Hey dad! I'm finished with my homework! I think I'll be going to bed now!"

"Goodnight then!" The dwarf shouted from the kitchen while he was doing the dishes. Lloyd nodded, even though his dad couldn't see him, and walked up the stairs toward his bedroom on the second floor.

"Ah.." He sighed as he flopped down onto the bed. Fixing the pillows to his liking, he fell into a peaceful sleep. In which he had the most weirdest dream.

_**Lloyd's Dream-**_

_He was being carried. But not roughly, just so he was on the person's shoulders. Looking down, he saw auburn hair. He pulled on it slightly, as if to see if it was real._

_"What is it Lloyd?" The person asked in a deep, smooth voice. Lloyd noticed the person knew his name, and he felt like he knew the man also._

_"Um..nothing..." Suddenly, the man stopped. _

_"Kratos..." He heard a woman say. He looked up and noticed a woman that he hadn't noticed before. The man named Kratos nodded and handed Lloyd over to the woman. _

_"What do you want, Kvar?" Kratos asked in voice that almost sounded like a growl. The person standing in front of him smirked. _

_"Hand over the Angelus Project, and we won't kill you, or your son." Kvar chided, knowing Kratos didn't have a way out of this. Lloyd gasped as he said this. This man, Kratos, was his father?!  
_

_"I'll never give you Anna! You'll have to get through me first!" Kratos practically yanked his Flameberge out of its sheathe. The sword seemed to be pulsating with life, like it was happy that it had a reason to finally be used on something other than monsters._

_"Fine..." Kvar turned his head toward his men and they nodded, charging almost instantly on the family. Suddenly, all Lloyd could see was a mixture of falling bodies, and a red streak, flying through the battle as if it were just a ball of fire. A hand was placed over his eyes, he suspected it to be the woman, Anna. And he heard himself do something he'd never done since he was little, he whimpered. _

_"Shh..." Anna whispered to him. "It'll be alright Lloyd, Daddy will protect you." Suddenly, Lloyd felt himself falling. He hit the ground, hard. Looking around, he noticed that the man named Kvar had his mom by the arm. As he watched what happened, he screamed. The man had removed his mother's exsphere, and she began to transform. She screamed with him, but not in shock, but in agony._

_"No! Anna!! Damn you!" Kratos shouted. He quickly dispatched the leftover desians and charged at Kvar. But Anna blocked his path. "Anna..." Kratos muttered._

_**"Kratos...please...kill me...for I fear I may hurt you...or Lloyd..." **And then, she lost control. It was all a blur to Lloyd. He saw her coming towards him, arm raised and ready to attack, when something green and white got in the way and was hit in the process. _

_"Noishe!" Kratos shouted at the green animal. The animal whimpered slightly in pain. Kratos turned back to the monster that was now Anna. "I could never kill you..." Kratos shoulders slumped. He had failed. But when he heard Lloyd scream, his head snapped up, and he went into 'over-protective-father' mode. He charged at Anna and ran her through with Flameberge. She screamed, and then tumbled off the cliff. Bringing Lloyd , Noishe, and her exsphere down with her. "ANNA, LLOYD!!" Was the last thing Lloyd heard before he hit the ground._

_**-Back in Reality**_

Lloyd shot up in bed, his face and body covered in sweat and the blankets had been kicked onto the floor. "Whew..." He sighed. "It was all just a dream." But for some reason, it felt a lot more real than that. Like it had actually happened to him. And that's when it hit him, it _had _happened to him before. It was a memory.

* * *

_**Me:** WooT!! Finally its done!! I is proud of myself!  
**Kratos:** You are happy again, right?  
**Me:** Yup! So, what'd you think?  
**Kratos:** ...-glare-...  
**Me:** Um...-whispers- Hey Lloyd, what's wrong with your daddy?  
**Lloyd: **Why ask me?**  
Me: **...Cause your his son.**  
Lloyd:** Let me think...Oh! Probably because you made him remember that.  
**Me:** Oh..sorry Kratos...  
**Kratos:** Its fine...don't do it again.  
**Me: **Okay! Now -turns to readers- Review and you'll get an Angry Kratos Cookie!!_


	2. Invasion and Capture

**Ch. 2: Invasion and Capture  
**

_**SilverMoon888:** Yo dudes! Watz up?  
**Lloyd:** Shut up..you're not gangster.  
**Zelos:** Yeah! Cause I am the only one who can be gangster, yo!  
**Me:**...O.o  
**Lloyd:** Okay, Zelos. How much have you had to drink tonight?  
**Zelos:** Um...four..maybe five...  
**Lloyd:** Four or five what?  
**Me:** Disclaimer...O.o  
**Zelos:** Yo! SilverMoon does not own ToS or Namco, dawg!  
**Me:** Onto le story!_

**Lloyd's age: 15**

Lloyd slowly walked down the stairs while playing the dream over in his head. What he didn't notice was that his foster father was at the end of the stairway, talking with someone. He rammed into his dad's back and took one step back, having broken out of his daze. "Watch where ye going boy. We have a guest." Dirk said while still facing the man. Lloyd gasped when he saw him.

"Who is he?" He asked in a whisper.

"I am Kratos Aurion. I have come to look for a job, for I am a mercenary." The man said in a deep, almost calming voice that was all too familiar to Lloyd.

"O-okay..." Lloyd said as he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous. He turned around and walked back up the stairs to wait until the man was gone.

--

After thirty minutes (Lloyd had counted) he heard the downstairs door shut. Glancing through a crack in his door, he saw his dad working in the forge, so he decided to go onto the terrace. Sliding the door open and walking onto the cool wooden floor of the terrace, Lloyd felt the cool fall wind blow against his face. All the smells of fall reached his nose first. The smell of burning leaves, pumpkins, and wet ground. He felt a chill run up his spine and decided he was cold.

Lloyd walked back into his room and slid the terrace door shut. He felt his stomach rumble and decided to go downstairs and get something to eat.

--

The following morning, Lloyd had to go to school. Hearing the morning bell ring, Lloyd ran into the classroom and slid into his seat, hoping that Raine didn't notice. Unfortunately for him, she did. "Lloyd Irving! If you are late one more time for my class, I swear I will give you detention for 4 days!" The teacher shouted with an annoyed look.

"..I'm sorry..." _Not _Lloyd added in his head. He walked gloomily over to his seat and plopped down. Glancing up at the clock, he noticed he was 20 minutes late for class. He sighed and decided to ignore the lesson again, and stare dreamily out the window.

**_Flashback_**

_"Daddy!" A three year old Lloyd shouted happily to his 'giant' father. "Pick me up!" His father sighed, he was never good with children._

_"Okay, Lloyd." The father crouched down to pick up the boy when he heard his wife scream. Snapping his head up, he saw her being attacked by wolves. "Hold on a second." He ran over to her and pulled out his sword. Almost immediately the wolf charged with its fangs bared. _

_"Kratos!" The wife shouted in shock and fear._

_"Its alright, protect Lloyd." Kratos said while fending off another charge from the wolf. By now, a pack had started to form. Kratos cursed silently to himself and swung his blade up into the air and slamming it back down shouting, "Fierce Demon Fang!"  
As he did so. He heard Lloyd say something behind him but couldn't turn around to see what was going on._

_"Get away fwom mommy!" The three-year-old shouted with a glare. He picked up a stick and chucked it as hard as he could at the wolf in front of him. It ended up hitting it in the eye. "Take that Mr. Bad Wolfy!" _

_"Good job, Lloyd." His mom said behind him with a sigh of relief. Lloyd felt arms rap themselves around him and pull him into a hug. He snuggled into it and started to fall asleep when he felt the person stand up. Glancing up, he saw his father. _

_"We weaving this awea?" Lloyd said with big brown eyes._

_"Yes, yes we are Lloyd." Kratos sighed, they moved so much, sometimes too much. "One more thing."_

_"What?" Lloyd asked._

_"Don't you ever do that again young man. You scared your mother half to death." Kratos scolded. But he wasn't too harsh. Lloyd nodded and drifted off into a peaceful sleep in his father's arms._

_**Out of Flashback**_

"Lloyd Irving, wake up!" (A/N: Whoops..XD I didn't mean for it to sound like the game!) Lloyd's teacher, Raine, shouted as she hit him with an chalkboard eraser.

"Ow!" Lloyd said while rubbing his wounded head. "Well excuse me if your class is so bor...." He cut off in mid sentence, then continued "ing?" He got up out of his chair and started to back away from the approaching teacher when an explosion was heard outside. The whole class gasped and stared out the windows in shock.

"Everyone stay here. " Raine commanded. "I will go check what's going on." She grabbed the staff that she kept hidden under her desk and ran outside. Lloyd stood up and grabbed for his wooden swords that were propped up against the wall.

"Lloyd! You heard what she said! We're supposed to stay here!" Genis, one of Lloyd's friends, said.

"I know, but aren't you anxious too?" Lloyd asked. Not wanting to wait for an answer, he strapped on his swords and ran out of the room.

--

Once outside, Lloyd saw the full force of what was going on outside. Bandits, a large group of them, were invading the village. Small house fires were going on and people were trying to defend themselves. Then, he saw a flash of purple and auburn. Realizing it was the mercenary from earlier, the one that look so much like the man from his dreams, he decided to chase after him to see what was going on.

Once he found him, he shouted to him. "Hey!" The man turned his direction and his eyes widened. Suddenly, he charged at Lloyd. Sword out and in position to attack. "What..what the?!"

"Move!" The man shouted and continued charging in Lloyd's direction. Lloyd took heed to his words and dived out of the way. He heard the sound of a sword cutting through flesh and a body falling to the ground. He looked up to see that there just happened to be a bandit behind him.

"Oh...thanks..." He muttered, almost speechless.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, unless you actually want to die." The man said coolly. He extended a hand down to Lloyd.

"Who...are you?" Lloyd asked while taking the mans hand.

"Kratos Aurion. A mercenary." Kratos said while helping him up with a grunt. He heard Lloyd gasp and glanced at him. "And who are you?"

"Um..Lloyd-" But he was cut off by a sudden scream.

"It seems that we have no time to talk. Lets go." Kratos took off in the direction of the scream and Lloyd bolted after him. Everything going by in a daze.

--

They reached the source of the scream to find a women with her husband and son trapped by three bandits. The scary thing was, to Lloyd, was that the women looked like Anna, and the husband and son looked like Lloyd and Kratos. Lloyd ran up behind Kratos to find him frozen in shock. "Kratos..are you okay?" Lloyd asked while putting a hand on Kratos' shoulder.

"A-anna....Lloyd...." Kratos muttered in a whisper-like voice. Lloyd's eyes widened when heard this.

"Kratos..." He whispered, poking Kratos' head while trying to take control of his own mind, "Wake up." Getting no response with the man, he slapped him lightly.

"What?" Kratos asked, coming out of his daze. Lloyd pointed to the family currently in distress and Kratos realized what he meant. "Alright." He quickly came up with a plan and told it to Lloyd. Now, Lloyd wasn't the best at remembering things, but he could remember this, he hoped.

"Go!" Lloyd shouted and charged at one of the three bandits. He slashed one of his blades up the bandits torso meanwhile the other blade slashed down the torso. Kratos, on the other hand, quickly dispatched the bandit he was fighting and moved on to the next one.

"Lloyd. Watch out behind you!" Kratos shouted as he dispatched the newer bandit.

"Right." Lloyd said as he dashed to one side, swiftly dodging the blade behind him. Another bandit had just arrived and a crowd had also started to gather. Lloyd brought his leg up behind him and kicked the man towards Kratos, who was waiting for another challenge. Meanwhile, Lloyd went back to the other bandit. "You're going down." He said tauntingly.

"Oh really?" The bandit sneered. Lloyd felt something hit him right in the back of the neck, and then everything went black.

"Lloyd!" Kratos shouted as he watched the teen fall.

**_Flashback_**

_Three year old Lloyd sat quietly at the campfire, awaiting his fathers return from scouting the area. Anna, his mother, was tending to the fire and keeping it alive._

_"Mwommy?" Lloyd asked quietly._

_"Yes Lloyd?" His mother responded._

_"Wheres Daddy?" _

_"He's out scouting, hunny." She said while patting his back gently. "Don't worry, he's fine." Just then, a rustle of the bushes caught their attention. They both glanced up to see Kratos walk out of the forest that surrounded them._

_"Daddy!" Lloyd shouted with glee and ran up to Kratos, jumping into his arms. "Welcome back!" Kratos smiled down at the boy in his arms and ruffled his hair._

_**Out of Flashback**_

Lloyd woke up with start and sat up in the completely uncomfortable bed he was lying in. Glancing around, he saw the room was mostly like a cell, except for the added blanket and pillow to the bed he was on. He heard footsteps and went laid back down while pretending to be asleep.

"Hey kid." It was one of the bandits voices from earlier, Lloyd realized. "We know you're awake, get up." Lloyd obeyed and sat up, glaring at the men outside of the cell.

"What do you want?" He said as calmly as possible at the moment.

"Our leader wishes to speak with you." The bandit said while pulling out the keys and a pair of handcuffs.

--

_**Me:** Whee! Its finally done! It took two days to type!  
**Lloyd: **You realize that's not a lot, right?  
**Me: **Shut up Lloyd. So Zelos, are you sober yet?  
**Zelos:** Whats it to you, dawg?  
**Me:** Um..okay...Btw peoples! It was longer this time! Did you notice?  
**Lloyd:** Pretty sure they didn't. -laughs-  
**Me:** I told you to shut up. -glares-  
**Zelos:** Review or get shot and killed by me, yo!  
**Me:** -sighs- By the way..word count was...-dramatic music- 2, 091!! YEAH!!  
**Lloyd:** Good for you. -scoffs-  
**Me:** SHUT UP! -slaps-_


	3. My Exsphere

**Ch. 3: My Exsphere**

**  
**_**SilverMoon:** Hey dudes! Sorry for not updating!  
**Lloyd:** Sure you are...  
**Zelos: **What happened?  
**Me:** You're sober now?  
**Zelos:** Maybe...I don't know...  
**Lloyd:** Do you like forgetting me or something?  
**Me:** Yes. Zelos, disclaimer please.  
**Zelos:** SilverMoon does not own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto the story!_

* * *

**Lloyd Age: 15**

Lloyd walked down the long corridor with his hands tied behind his back. "What does your leader want with me anyways?" For talking, he received a punch to the face. His lip started to bleed.

"Keep quiet!" A very large bandit said with a sneer. "Or it'll be worse next time." Lloyd snarled but obeyed, keeping his mouth shut all the way.

They finally reached a door that looked a normal door, except for on it there was a name inscribed on it. Lloyd couldn't exactly read what it said, but he was pretty sure it was the leader's name. One of the two bandits knocked loudly on the door, which made a metallic clang when his fist collided with it. "What is it?" A voice called from inside.

"We've brought the boy." The bandit said in a deep voice.

"Very well, come in." The bandits pushed open the door and threw Lloyd inside. He hit the floor and bumped his head on the ground. The two bandits nodded and left the room. "Lloyd Irving, am I correct." Lloyd stayed silent, glaring up at the man from his sitting posistion on the ground. "You may speak."

"Give me your name and i'll give you mine." Lloyd said cockily. The leader kicked him in the face and then in the side. Lloyd yelped in pain and clenched his teeth. "Yeah, you're correct."

"Good boy. Now, down to buisness." He said with a stern voice. "Do you know of the reason I captured you for?"

"Well, lets see. I was caught off guard, thrown into a cell, and beaten. Do you think I would know the answer?!" Lloyd shouted as he stood up to face the leader of the bandits. "Now, before you tell me what you want. I want to know who you are and where we are." He demanded.

"Fine. I am Yuan, leader of the Renegades." Yuan introduced.

"Okay. Now I wanna know what you want with me." Lloyd said while trying to undo the rope from around his hands and wrists.

"The reason I called you here is because you have something I need. Lloyd Irving, give me you exsphere!" Yuan shouted while charging towards Lloyd who had just got the rope undon from around his wrists.

"W-what?!" He shouted and dodged the charging man. Pulling out his two wooden swords, he turned to face the Renegade leader. "What do you want with my exsphere?"

Yuan charged again, pulling his doubled edged weapon. He charged at Llody and swung upward then spun the sword around. Lloyd, managed to jump into the air and barely avoid the blades. He took one of his blades and swung it downward, attempting to smash it on Yuan's head, but failed.

Yuan, who noticed what Lloyd was trying to do, grabbed the blade before it could hit his head and threw it, with Llody attached, into a wall, sucessfully knocking him out. He grinned in triumph and walked over to the unmoving body.

Just as he was about to remove the teen's exsphere, Lloyd grabbed his arm and twisted it into an unnatural position, it cracked. Yuan growled in pain and brought his leg up and kicked Lloyd in the face. "You should not have done that." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, why not?" Lloyd said with a cocky grin and licked the blood from his lips. "Because you and your fairy princess attacks are gonna beat me up? Ooh, I'm so scared!" He said, faking a scared look. Yuan glared in anger.

"Shut up you brat!" He charged at Lloyd again and kicked, punched, and pretty much anything else you could do to hurt someone. Lloyd blocked and dodged to the best of his ability, and was doing pretty good. Until, of course, one hit he could not block. A punch in the gut and a kick where it hurts.

Lloyd fell to the ground, beat up and bleeding. He tried to stand, but found his body wanting to fall into unconciousness. "N-no..." He muttered while spitting up blood onto the ground.

"You shouldn't have gotten me angry." Yuan growled while glaring down at him. Lloyd grinned and finally gave into his body's wants and fell unconcious. Yuan called two Renegades to drag the boy back to his cell and then sat down at his desk, breathing heavily. The kid was strong, that much he'd admit.

**_Flashback_**

**_  
_**_Anna walked over to the sleeping boy and gently shook him awake, "Lloyd, its time to wake up." She said as sweetly as she could._

_"Eh...?" Lloyd said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. _

_"Its time to go..."_

_  
**Out of Flashback**_

"Wake up." A deep and calming voice said quietly. Lloyd opened his eyes to meet the wine red eyes of Kratos. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, grimacing when he felt his legs and body ache in pain. "We came to get you." Lloyd looked around and noticed that Genis, Colette, and Raine were there.

"I uh...sorry.." He said as he swung his legs off the bed and onto the icy cold floor. He bent down to grab his shoes and felt his spine twing in protest. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed both puts and quickly put them on.

"I've healed your wounds to stop the bleeding." Kratos said while helping Lloyd up off the bed.

"Thanks." He muttered.

--

Once they finally reached the exit, Lloyd was breathing heavily from the effort. "Whew, glad to be out of there." He said with a sigh of relief.

"Once we get a little ways away, we'll make a camp. It will take some time to get back to the village. After all, we are in the desert." Kratos said.

They finally got far away enough to make a camp, and Kratos, Colette, and Genis got to work setting up camp. Meanwhile, Raine was fixing up Lloyd's wounds. "By the way, Lloyd, how did you even get hurt?" Raine asked questioningly.

"Um..well...I met the leader of the place I was in. He said his name was Yuan." For a minute, Lloyd thought he'd heard Kratos growl, but he ignored it. "Anyways, so he said he wanted my exsphere. I don't know why. But suddenly, we were in the midst of battle. I was doing pretty good to, but then he got me. I blacked out for a second and woke up to the feeling of someone holding my arm, so I reacted and grabbed the arm. I broke it and apparently I got Yuan angry." He paused to take a breath and scratch his arm where he was injured. "Anyways, so he knocked me out after a while. The next thing I knew, I woke up to Kratos in my face." Lloyd purposely left out the part about the dream and finished up what he was saying.

"Interesting..." Kratos muttered with a dark look on his face. He was gonna have to teach Yuan a lesson when he saw him again. Especially for injuring Lloyd.

--

When they finally got back to Iselia, Lloyd was welcomed back by all the people he'd saved. He was happy to see that the family that reminded him so much of his own mother and father, were okay. He smiled and waved his uninjured arm. "Lloyd, glad to see yer back." Lloyd turned to see Dirk walking up to them.

"Hey dad!" Lloyd almost swore he saw Kratos flinch when he said 'dad' to Dirk.

"What happened to you?" Dirk said when he finally reached them and saw how injured Lloyd was.

"We ran into some trouble on the way home. Don't worry, he is fine." Kratos stated when Lloyd was about to talk. Lloyd got the feeling he didn't want anyone in the village finding about what happened.

"Good, good. How 'bout we all go home to get something to eat?" Dirk suggested.

"I politely decline." Kratos said while turning to walk away. "I will see you all later, if fate chooses it." With goodbye's said, Kratos walked out of the village. But Lloyd got the feeling they'd meet again.

"So, who wants the Dwarven special?" Lloyd said with a grin. He gave a questioning look when he saw everyone grimace. "What, you don't want any?" He asked.

"Not really." Genis said with a cough.

"Fine then, you cook."

--

After dinner, Lloyd was sitting up in his room, listening to the hum of converstation going on downstairs. He sighed, missing his mother. He remembered what happened to his family. But they seemed like such a perfect family. Sighing again, more deeply this time, he walked out onto the terrace, just in time to see his friends leaving. "Bye guys!" He shouted while waving. They looked up and waved back.

"Bye Lloyd!" Genis and Colette shouted at the same time. They waved as they walked away, Colette tripping and falling down onto her face. Lloyd chuckled at that and walked back into his room, sliding the doors shut behind him.

Laying back down on his bed, he suddenly felt tired. Closing his eyes, he fell into a deep and peacful sleep. Unlike his dream though.

**Dream World**

**  
**_Lloyd opened his eyes and found himself falling. He felt as though he would fall forever, if it was even possible. Of course, nothing could go on forever. Finally, he felt himself land into a lake, or at least, that's what Lloyd thought it was. When he looked up, he saw an all to familiar face. "K-kratos..." He muttered, feeling the oxygen leave his body as he did._

_"Lloyd...why didn't you save me?" Kratos said in a voice full of sadness._

_"W-what are you talking about? Save you?" _

_"You let me die, you let it all happen to me. You couldn't save me." Suddenly, Kratos turned into his mom. Lloyd gasped and got a mouthful water. He looked up at his mother and saw tears running down her face._

_"I- I couldn't do anything!" He shouted at his mother, breathing in more water. "I was only three..." _

_"You could have stopped him..." His mother said as she started to fall apart, piece by piece._

_"No! Mother! Don't leave me!" But Lloyd had finally taken in too much water, and passed out. Feeling the darkness engulf him._

_  
_**Reality World**

**  
**Lloyd woke up sweating and breathing heavily. "W-what was that?" He said to himself while attempting to rub the sweat off of his forhead.

* * *

_**Me:** Wow, I think it turned out well...then again...I can't write! XD  
**Lloyd:** No, you can't. -laughs-  
**Me:** -slaps-  
**Lloyd:** What was that for?!  
**Me:** ...  
**Lloyd:** Are you okay?  
**Me:** ...  
**Lloyd:** Um..okay...  
**Me:** ...-glare-  
**Lloyd:** What?  
**Me:** Review while I kill Lloyd. -chases Lloyd around room-  
**Lloyd:** HELP!!!  
**Kratos:** -walks in- Word count was....2,112...-chases after Lloyd to scold him-_


	4. The Journey of Regeneration

**Chapter 4: The Journey of Regeneration**

_**SilverMoon:**Whoa! I have not written in like, forever! Literally!!  
**Lloyd:** Well of course Ms. Sidetracked!  
**Me:** -slaps again-  
**Lloyd:** What did I do this time?!  
**Me:** .....  
**Lloyd:** Not again....whatever.  
**Me:** .....  
**Lloyd:**SilverMoon does not own ToS or Namco  
**Me:** I don't recall telling you to say the disclaimer.  
**Lloyd:** Whatever. -leaves-  
**Me:** Onto story!_

**Lloyd's Age: 17**

_

* * *

_

Lloyd woke up to the sunlight shining straight down onto his face, also, with a face full of water. "What the heck?!" He shouted in surprise as the cold water splashed down on his face.

"Get up! You're late fur school." Dirk said as he walked away with an empty bucket.

"Oh crap!" Lloyd shouted. He stood up and grabbed his clothes, threw them on, and headed down the stairs. On his way out, he grabbed a piece of toast and his schoolbag and ran off to the village, Iselia.

----

"Lloyd Irving, late again!" Raine shouted as Lloyd hustled into the classroom.

"I'm sorry Raine!" Lloyd said while using his bag to deflect the barrage of erasers.

"Just take your seat!" Lloyd nodded and sat down at his desk. Raine sighed and continued on with her lesson.

Lloyd, however, was busy staring out the window. Finding a particular cloud very interesting. It wasn't until Raine called his name that his mind traveled back into the classroom. "Um..." He said, not remembering what she said.

"Nevermind! Genis, will you please answer?" Raine glared deathfully at Lloyd as she walked around the classroom, listening to Genis' answer. "Very good, now lets continue on to the next sect--" Just then, a bright light shined throughout the classroom, blinding Lloyd and the others.

"What the...?" Lloyd whispered as the light faded away.

"That's the Oracle." Raine said as she closed the book she was holding and set it under her desk in the corner of the class. "I will go to the temple and check everything out." With that, she walked towards the door. "Also, all of you stay here and study." Then, she left all together.

Lloyd glared at the spot where she just was. Then, he smiled mischievously, just getting a great idea. He stood up slowly, as not to alert anybody else in the classroom, and walked towards the door.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted as he ran up to him. "Raine said to stay here and study!"

"I know but, it'd just seem so boring if we did! Besides, don't you wanna see what'll happen?" Lloyd asked in a persuading tone.

"No, now get back to your desk." Genis said sternly.

"Fine..." Lloyd sighed and was about to walk away when a groan was heard as Lloyd turned around. He whirled around again and caught site of a body falling towards the ground. Instinctively he reached out to grab the falling person. He heard Colette and the rest of the class gasp in horror. When he looked down, he realized who he had caught. It was a body of a priest, faintly breathing.

"What happened?!" Colette said as she ran up.

"Desians...attacked the..temple." The priest stuttered out.

"Those bastards!" Lloyd whispered angrily and then stared back down at the priest.

"I am..saddened that...I c-couldn't protect the Cho...chosen..." With that, the life left the priest's eyes, and he died. Colette cried a little and Genis looked upset.

"Come on guys," Lloyd said, "We've got to go to the temple!" After they put the priest's body somewhere safe to be buried later, the group left off to head towards the temple.

----

When they reached the temple, they heard the sounds of swords clashing and spells being casted. That only made Lloyd want to reach the temple more. He increased his speed as he sprinted up the steps, only to come face to face with a man with spiky brown hair and a goatee.

"Hand over the Chosen now!" He shouted at an old women cowering in a corner. Lloyd suspected her to be Colette's grandma, Phaidra.

"Never." She said.

"Grandmother!" Colette shouted as her and Genis reached Lloyd at the top of the stairs.

"Run Colette!" Phairda shouted worriedly.

"I see, so this is the Chosen." The pointy bearded man said.

"You'll never get Colette!" Lloyd shouted and stepped in front of Colette.

"If you insist to get in the way, so be it. Kill them!" The man shouted angrily.

Then, the battle began. Lloyd charged the first soldier he saw and immediately thrusted out with one sword performing a technique he had learned over the years. "Sonic Thrust!" He shouted with a snarl. The sword miraculously pierced the man through the stomach. Blood splattered on Lloyd's face and clothes, but he paid no heed to it. _'There's something different to these Desians....where have I seen them before?' _He thought as he charged at another man. This one was not as easy as the last. Somewhere behind him, he heard Genis shouted 'Fireball.' But he couldn't tell where.

Just then, the two remaining soldiers ran off the battle field, only to be replaced by a bigger man. Then Lloyd realized it. _'They aren't Desians! They're Renegades!' _His momentary shock left him with his guard down, that was his mistake. The bigger man, Viddar, took this chance to slash Lloyd from his right shoulder down to his left hip.

"Lloyd!!" Colette shouted and started to run to his aid, only to be stopped by Viddar. They were losing, Lloyd was sure of that.

Just when he thought it was all over, he saw a familiar flash of purple and the next thing he knew he saw Kratos standing in front of him. "Kratos what--"

"Don't get in the way." He said harshly and charged at Vidar head on. Lloyd stood, shakily at first, then finally managed to stand straight. He charged at Vidar too, following right behind Kratos. When he reached Kratos' side, he managed to slash Viddar across the face, momentarily blocking his eyes. "You're injured, get to the sidelines." Kratos muttered to Lloyd as he continued to slash at Vidar.

"Shut up!" Lloyd grunted angrily as he also swiped and slashed at Viddar.

"Go!" Kratos shouted as he pushed Lloyd away onto the sidelines.

Lloyd couldn't breathe for a second, Kratos having pushed on his wound. He finally got a chance to stair at himself as the battle continued. He realized the severity of his wound and how much blood he had lost. His head began swimming with the fuzzy memories from his dreams. Subconsciously he pulled out an apple gel and began applying it to his wound.

Not soon after, he heard the thump of Viddar's body hitting the ground. Looking up, he saw that Kratos had successfully stabbed him through the heart. He walked over to Lloyd.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he knelt down and casted a quick First Aid on Lloyd. The wound closed and stopped bleeding, but, Kratos assumed, left a nasty scar on Lloyd's chest.

"Yeah.." Lloyd said, "Thanks." He grabbed Kratos' extended hand and stood up on unsteady feet. Kratos helped him steady himself then walked over to where Phaira was standing.

"You are the Chosen's grandmother, I assume?" He questioned, well it was more of a statement.

"Yes, thank you for saving Colette."

"I will continue to protect the Chosen, with the right amount of pay of course." Kratos stated calmly.

"I have no other choice, plase protect Colette." Phaidra said, handing him the right amount of gald.

"Chosen, are you alright enough to pass through the temple?" Kratos asked.

"Yes, but um...Could Lloyd and Genis join us, please? I'd feel uncomfortable without them."

"Alright. Besides, you were going to follow us anyways, weren't you?" Kratos asked, turning towards Lloyd. Lloyd grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Lets continue." Kratos said as he, Colette, Lloyd, and Genis headed into the temple.

----

After a series of traps, trips, and inconvienionces. They finally made it up towards the seal rioom. Lloyd stared in awe as an angel descended, claiming to be Colette's real father. "Now, do you accept the job of being the Chosen of Regeneration?"

"Yes." Colette said in a whisper voice. A bright red light enshrouded Colette. When it faded, she had a blood red crystal was attached to her neck. "...." She stayed silent.

"Go to the desert, there you shall find the first seal." With that, the angel disappeared. Lloyd stared in awe as the feathers from the angel's wings disinigrated. It was a beautiful site.

"So then, shall we be going Chosen?" Kratos asked waving his hand to motion Colette towards the warp pad.

"Wait, where are you going?" Lloyd asked.

"To the Chosen's house to discuss the journey. No. You cannot come." Kratos stated calmly, then warped away to the bottom floor of the temple. Lloyd, being Lloyd, decided to follow him.

----

When they got back to the village, Kratos had already reached Colette's house. Lloyd started into a jog, with Genis following behind, towards his best friends house.

Once there, he saw that they had just decided that only Kratos and Raine were to go on the Journey. "Wait!" He shouted while running into the house, "Can I g-go?" He asked, a little out of breath.

"No. Its too dangerous for kids your age." Kratos said with his arms crossed.

"I agree with Kratos," Raine said. "Besides, I don't want you to get hurt, Genis."

"But--"

"No, Lloyd," Kratos said in a slightly frustrated voice. "Stay here like a good child should."

Lloyd glared at Kratos and stormed out of the room, towards the forest. Genis followed him out with a worried look. "Lloyd?" He asked when they reached the southern gate.

"What?" Lloyd said in an angry voice.

"C-can I come with you through the forest. I need to do something." Genis said quietly.

"Um...sure." Lloyd smiled. Of course he wasn't going to ask why. It would be rude. "Lets go!"

----

It turned out that Genis wanted to go see an old lady at the ranch named Marble. "Lloyd, will you make a keycrest for Marble? Please?" Genis asked pleadingly.

"Fine. But I'll have to have Dad make it." Lloyd sighed, _How am I going to get Dad to make a keycrest without telling him why? _He thought to himself. He came out of his thoughts just to hear a Desian yell Marble's name.

"I'm sorry Marble! I gotta go!" Genis said.

"I'll be back with the keycrest, promise!" Lloyd promised and then he and Genis ran off towards the exit to the ranch area. They decided to see what would happen to Marble before they left. "Hey Genis," Lloyd said. "Is that cliff good enough for me to climb?"

"Judging by the size of it, you should be able to." Genis said smartly.

"Alright. Get on my back." Genis looked at Lloyd curiously, then realized what he meant and hopped up onto Lloyd's back. They hopped up the cliffside and onto the highest point, where they could see inside the ranch, where Marble was being wipped harshly. "We've got to save her!" Lloyd growled angrily.

"But we can't! We'll break the treaty!"

"That's a chance we have to take." Lloyd said, he almost had to correct himself because he was about to say that the Desians already broke the treaty at the temple, but remembered that those were Renegades.

"Alright." Genis said hesiitently.

"Here's what we'll do. You send three fireballs at them, and then run away. I'll jump down and act as a decoy. Got it?" Lloyd said in one breath.

"But--" Lloyd glared at Genis. "Al-alright..."

Genis sent down the three fireballs at the Desians wipping Marble and then jumped down the way they had come up. Lloyd waiting until the percise moment and jumped across the top of the gate and down onto the ground below. The Desians opened up the gate and charged at Lloyd. Then, Lloyd heard a faint "ow." and he knew it was Genis who had tripped. _Crap. _He thought angrily. _I'm gonna have to fight them. _

As soon as the Desians turned towards the bushes where Genis was, Lloyd charged at their exposed backs. On the first one (there was three) he slashed upwards with his left blade, then with his foot he kicked out at the second Desian charging at his right side. Both Desians flew across the terrain and into the rocky cliffside. The third Desian was tougher. Lloyd had to parry and jump back about five times before he could actually swing his right blade down and hit the Desians skull and break his nose.

Then suddenly, his back felt like it was on fire. It burnt like the whole sun was pushing down onto it. He was forced to his knees by the pain of his back. He heard more feet running towards where he was and quickly thought of something. He managed to push himself to his feet and jump over the cliff's edge.

Lloyd hit the ground, hard. His feet jarred up and for a minute, he couldn't feel his legs. Then, his mind went back to the current problem that was burning up his spine. He heard the small footsteps of Genis running towards him.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted and ran over to his friend. He put one of his hands on his back and felt a great surge of mana under the skin. _That's not normal. _He thought to himself. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah....I'm--AGGH!!" Lloyd shouted in pain as another searing burn chased itself up his spine. Then, it was gone. Like icecubes had been pushed in all over his back. "I gotta go home..." He said quietly. "You head back to Iselia." Lloyd said to Genis. Then he stood and straightened himself up and brushed off his red outfit.

"You sure?" Genis asked. He recieved a nod. "Alright. Be careful."

----

That night, Colette came over with Kratos, Raine, and Genis. Colette and Lloyd were currently up on the terrace talking with one another. "Um...Lloyd? If you want to go with us tomorrow..we're leaving at noon." She said a little hesitantly.

"Really? Thanks Colette!" Lloyd smiled. "I'll be there, I promise."

----

But the next morning, Genis and Lloyd didn't get to see Colette off. Instead they got to fight a ranch prisoner that turned into a monster by taking off the exsphere. "Crap!" Lloyd said as he just barely managed to dodge a downward swipe from the monster's arm.

"Lloyd? You alright?" Genis shouted over the sound of the monsters walking.

"Yeah!" Lloyd shouted back.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they finally were able to defeat the monster.

**_"Genis...Lloyd....thank..you..." _**With that, the monster, that was now known as Marble, blew herself up to try and kill the man that had came after Lloyd and Genis, Forcystus.

"Marble...Marble...NOOOO!!" Genis shouted falling down onto his knees and screaming up to the sky.

"Lloyd Irving, as long as you have that exsphere, we will always come after you." Forcystus said as he left the burning, and destroyed village that was Iselia.

"You! You caused all this!" The Mayor of Iselia yelled angrily.

"Yes. I did. And I am sorry. But I know that sorry won't cut it. So if you want to exile me, go ahead. Just please leave Genis alone." Lloyd said.

"Very well. Lloyd Irving you are---"

"Wait! Its my fault too! I forced Lloyd to go to the ranch!" Genis shouted desperately.

"Genis..." Lloyd whispered.

"Alright. Genis, Lloyd you are both hereby exiled from the village of Iselia!" The mayor delcared.

----

Lloyd and Genis were camping out for the night, trying to decide what they should do next. "We should try and find Colette and the others." Lloyd suggested.

"That's a good idea." Genis agreed.

Suddenly, there was a rustle amoung the bushes. Lloyd looked up to see a group of Renegades come charging out. And before he could act, he was shot with a ball of lightning, and everything went black.

----

When he woke up, he was in the same cell from his earlier teenage life. He was at the Renegade base again. _Okay..how to get out of here._Then he noticed that all of his equipment was gone, all except for the Sorcerer's Ring that he had gotten from the temple when he was with Colette, Kratos, and Genis. _Genis!!_Lloyd thought worridly. What had happened to his friend?

When he looked up again he noticed a guard patrolling right outside his cell. The keys to his cell dangled from the Renegades right hip and they jingled as he walked. Lloyd then got an idea. He could use the Sorcerer's Ring to knock out the guard then get the keys!

He waited till the guard was right next to his cell, then fired. It was a dead on hit. The guard fell down and the keys came undon from his belt. Lloyd was out and free, for now.

----

He finally made it through most of the base (or so he thought), but suddenly ran into some trouble. He managed to escape into a random room, not paying attention to the sign on the door. It was then that he heard a familiar voice.

"So we meet again, Lloyd." Lloyd turned around to face the man who had captured him before, Yuan.

"Heh, I thought'd I'd never see your ugly face again, guess I was wrong." Lloyd said with a grin.

"Why you..." Yuan said in a menacing voice. "I'm gonna kill you then take your exsphere." Yuan said pulling out his doubled edged weapon again. Lloyd did the same and pulled out his own weapons.

"Lets see you try." Just as Lloyd was about to charge, he heard an explosion and then footsteps running into the room he and Yuan were in.

"Lloyd!" Colette yelled.

"Lloyd, lets go." Kratos said calmly, but not before shooting a glare towards Yuan, who didn't even flinch. "Come." Lloyd nodded and glared at Yuan.

"I will get to fight you again, and defeat you." He said with a cocky grin. With that said, they all left towards Triet to head to the inn.

----

"I believe you and Genis wanted to go on the Journey with us, correct?" Kratos asked.

"Yeah."

"I guess we have no choice now. Just get some rest. We'll be heading to the seal tomorrow." Kratos said calmly, then headed off towards his room.

Lloyd soon went to his own room, saying a quick goodnight to everyone. He lay on his bed now, with his head facing downwards into the pillow. He was thinking about todays earlier events. _But at least one thing turned out alright. I get to go on the Journey of Regeneration now! _Lloyd smiled to himself and then fell into a deep and much needed sleep.

**Dream World**

_"Goodnight Lloyd." A calm voice said. _

_"Goodnwight Daddy!" replied another voice, yet it was smaller and more childish._

**Real World**

"Goodnight....daddy..."

* * *

_**Me:** So, how was it.  
**Colette:** I think it was cute!  
**Me:** Get out of here!! -pushes Colette out a window- Sorry all Colette fans!!  
**Lloyd:** It was alright...  
**Me:** So....tired....-falls asleep-  
**Lloyd:** Yeah...me too. Anyways..review....-falls asleep too-  
**Colette:**-crawls up through window- Word count was....-drumroll- 3,603!! -falls out window again-_


	5. Wings of an Angel

**Ch. 5: Wings of an Angel**

_**SilverMoon:** Hey dudes! This is so awesome! I've got so many plot bunnies for this story! wOOt!!  
**Lloyd:** Good for you.  
**Me:** Wow, what did Zelos shove up your butt this time?  
**Lloyd:** o.o Nothing!! -blushes and runs off-  
**Me:** Creepy. o.o  
**Kratos:** Would you like me to say the disclaimer?  
**Me:** Yes.  
**Kratos:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto the story!_

* * *

Lloyd sighed as he sat up in bed. Such a peacful sleep and the morning had to go and ruin it! "Stupid mornings..." He muttered and then stood and walked to the end of the bed and grabbed his jacket. Deciding that he wouldn't need it, he tied it into a single knot around his waste.

He looked to the bed next to him and realized Kratos was not there. _'Crap, I'm late!' _He thought and then ran out the door, and down the steps, two at a time. Once he reached the bottom, he asked one of the workers if they'd seen his party. She told him that they were outside waiting for him. He thanked her and ran out the door into the seering heat.

"The seal should be just west of here." He heard Raine say as he ran out the door. "Oh Lloyd, nice of you to join us."

"Good morning Lloyd!" Colette said cheerfully. He smiled. His back started to itch between his shoulderblades. He stretched his hand back and scratched the spot roughly. Genis gave him a worried look and he sent him a carefree smile.

"So, we're going ot the seal right?" He asked, still scratching the spot.

"Obviously." Kratos said. They all decided that they were leaving and headed off out of the city.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Gah! This desert is so hot!!" Lloyd shouted angrily, sweat pouring down his forehead and arms. His hair was drooping in front of his eyes whether from the sweat or to match Lloyd's tiredness, he didn't know.

"Well, Lloyd, this _is _a desert." Genis said sarcastically.

"I knew that!" Lloyd said, his face flushed from heat. He felt his back itch again. Scratching vigorously, he looked up to see a building on the horizon, from what he could see, it was broken in to many pieces.

"Lloyd, is there something wrong with your back?" Raine asked while staring at Lloyd who was still scratching between his shoulderblades with a furious look.

"No..its just um...the heat." Lloyd said while pulling his hand away from his back and trying to ignore is itching back. Kratos gave him a suspicous look, but Lloyd ignored him. "So, we're almost there right?"

Just then, Raine looked up. "Oh my god! Its the actual Triet Ruins!!" She ran ahead of them to where the ruins were and practically glomped them. She started to rub her head against the smooth stone beneath her.

"Um, Genis? What's wrong with your sister?" Lloyd asked with a very confused look.

"Well...Its better that you don't know." Genis said, obviously trying to avoid the subject of his sister. "Seriously..."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

A few moments later, after a few traps and other battles, they had finally reached the seal room. _'What's this feeling?' _Lloyd thought to himself. He felt something welling up, like a great power, almost as if it were going to suffocate him. He felt as though he were gasping for air.

"I feel mana welling up from the seal!" Genis shouted in warning. But it came a little to late. Because just as he reached the word mana, three huge monsters came bursting out of the fire that had erupted from the seal. One big one, and two little ones. Genis expected the two small ones were the children of the biggest one.

"Get ready! Here they come!" Lloyd shouted as the monsters charged. The battle began.

Kratos started off with a sidestep dodge from the big ones tail. Lloyd, on the other hand, charged straight at one of the smaller ones. He jumped into the air and swung downwards with his two (no longer wooden) swords. They almost reached the monsters head, but the bigger one swungs its tail and knocked Lloyd straight to the ground.

"Lloyd!" He heard Colette shout in worry.

"Chosen, focus on the battle. I will attend to Lloyd!" He heard footsteps run towards his unmoving body. Then he felt two strong hands turn him over to look up and face him. It was Kratos. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly.

"Y-yeah." Lloyd stood up, shaky at first, but straitghtened out. He nodded with Kratos. The other members of the team having already killed the two smaller ones, there was only one left. They both silently decided that this was going to be the last hit.

Kratos took off and curved around the biggest monster's left side while Lloyd ran around and took aim from the right side. Right at the same moment, they stopped. Then they started again, charging straight for each other then, they changed direction right at the last second. They ended up make a diagnol like, or a cross if you look at it from another angle. "Cross Thrust!" They both shouted at the same time.

The hit split the monster into a cross until it fell apart and faded away in a cloud of blood. Sighed, Lloyd fell down onto the floor and into a sitting position. But suddenly, he felt the same suffocating feeling again. Then he realized what it was, mana. _'But how can I sense it? I'm not an elf!' _He ignored the questions running through his heads and stood.

When he reached the altar, he saw the angel Remial or whatever was already floating above them. He was saying something about the location of the next seal when Lloyd finally noticed Colette. She had wings! _'Wings...' _He thought to himself. Then, he felt the irritating itching on his back again, and began to scratch it.

"Lloyd, let me see your back." Raine with a serious tone. Lloyd oblidged and took off his shirt, exposing a very red back from his itching. But what was odd was the fact that parts of his skin were sticking out, almost in the shape of veins. Raine swore she heard Kratos gasp in horror, but ignored it and poked one of the 'veins'.

"Ouch.." Lloyd muttered under his breath. That hurt, like someone had just pinched a part of his skin that was very tense. Or like someone had just put a needle through his skin.

"That hurt?" Raine asked. She continued to examine his back.

"Um...Raine?" Genis asked, "Is he okay?" When Raine looked up from Lloyd's back, she saw that his face was twisted in pain, and yet, he wasn't making a sound.

"Are you okay, Lloyd?" Raine asked in a worried tone. Lloyd nodded slowly, but even doing that hurt. Right after she had pinched that spot on his back, he felt as if something inside him was just going to explode. His head felt like it was growing heavier on his shoulders every second he stood there waiting. He hissed when Raine poked at his back again.

"P--please don't....do that..." He breathed out, finding it very hard to form the words with his mouth. He heard Raine mutter a quick apology before she walked away.

Right when she did that, he felt as if the pain wouldn't stop. He let out a tiny scream before beding down to pick up his shirt. Then the dam broke, and whatever was being held was let out. He screamed as loud as his lungs would allow and fell onto the floor, writhing in pain. He grabbed the spot between his shoulderblades and pushed down. That only made it worse. But even so, the pain wouldn't stop. It was like a thousand needles were all being stabbed into his skin, removed, and put back in.

The whole group was immediately at his side. "Lloyd! Are you okay?" Raine asked in a very worried tone. She started to rub circles on his back but that only increased the volume of his screaming.

Then, it was gone. As quick as it had come, the pain vanished. He heard Raine gasp, along with everybody else that crowded his writhing form. But that was the last thing he heard, because he blacked out.

**Flashback **

_Lloyd opened his eyes to the night sky above him. He felt the wind blowing through his hair. It felt good. He looked down to the man that he was seated on. "Daddy! This is fwun!!" He giggled happily. _

_"That's good Lloyd. But we have to go back to mommy now." _

_"....alright..." He sighed as they began their descent._

**Real World**

When he awoke, he found himself in the Triet Inn, lying face down on a bed. He tried to moves his hands to where he could push himself up, turn himself around, and get into a sitting position, but he found that they wouldn't respond. He also felt a very weird sensation on his back. Like a tingling feeling.

Finally, his arms started to respond. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around the room. It was nighttime, that much he knew. And he could hear the even breathing of Kratos sleeping in the bed next to him. But what was odd was that he could also hear the breathing of the people in the other rooms. In fact, he could hear the who city of Triet, and beyond. _'What is this?!' _He thought in shock.

He turned around to look at his back, but found himself facing silver, and lots of it. Then he realized what it was, it was wings. The silver he was seeing was the upper part of his wings! He attempting to turn his head more to see more of the wings on his back, but heard his neck crack and stopped.

Then he froze. When did he get wings? How? Was he an angel, like Colette? But...He didn't have a gem on his neck like she did. _So..how?_ He thought to himself. '_Maybe...the dream!! How could I forget! I was flying...on...my dad's back! He was flying with me...So...does that mean Kratos is an angel?' _He shook his head. No, that couldn't be. Kratos didn't have wings after all. Besides, if he was, then why was he here on earth as a mercenary?

Sighing, he walked out of the room and down the stairs. He stopped before the last step, stretching his hearing to see if anyone was in the lobby at the moment. There wasn't.

So he continued on down the stairs and out the door of the inn. He found Noishe behind the same fence that he was placed in before. He patted the animal on the head before walking onwards towards the exit of the city.

"You shouldn't be going anywhere in your state." He heard a familiar voice say behind him. He turned around to see Kratos.

"Uh..yeah...but I feel fine!" He said, stretching his arms out to show that he was okay. His mind, though, kept wandering to his earlier thinking. _'Was Kratos really an angel?' _He shook his head again and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind. "But I just wanted some fresh air...its cramped in there."

"...Fine. But only for a few minutes." Kratos said before turning around and walking back towards the inn.

"Wait!" Lloyd shouted. Kratos turned around, "Um...do...could you stay..?" He asked. He knew it sounded childish but he really did want the mercenary to stay.

"Is there something you need?" Kratos asked in a cold tone.

"Um...I just..." He stopped himself, "No..you can go if you want." He felt his wings fall a little. It surprised him that Kratos hadn't said anything about them yet. His mind turned away from the man standing in front of him, he tried to flap his wings a little. They twitched slightly, but didn't do anything else. He tried a little harder this time, and earned a flap that created a gust of wind that ruffled his and Kratos' hair.

Kratos sighed lightly. His son could be so curious sometimes. He remebered him a child. He shook the thoughts away and sat down on the cool desert floor. He watched as the teen continued flapping his wings, finding his amazed looks amusing.

"Did...are..." Lloyd started, but his mouth wouldn't form the words he wanted to say, "Are...are you...." But once again, his mind stopped himself from asking. He sighed, "Nevermind. I'm gonna go back in now, you coming?" He asked as he walked past the mercenary then turned slightly.

Kratos nodded and followed in after the boy.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

The next morning, Lloyd was standing in front of a mirror, attempting to put his wings away. Colette was standing behind him, attempting to help him.

"Just think about them disappearing. It should work." She smiled, watching Lloyd struggle.

"I am! Its just...hard.." He tried again, thinking very hard this time. Genis walked in.

"You know, you really shouldn't be thinking so hard, your brain might explode." He joked. But Lloyd could feel the tension in the air. The newfound discovery that he was an angel was a bit of a shock to everyone. Colette seemed cheerful about it though, and that was the only thing that got him past all the weird stares he was getting.

"Shut up Genis." He said, laughing lightly. Then, he thought about his wings disappearing, not quite thinking as hard. They disappeared. He laughed quietly to himself.

"Good job!" Colette giggled while clapping. Just then, Kratos walked into the bedroom.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked them. They all nodded while smiling. He nodded, "We'll be waiting downstairs, hurry up." And with that, he walked out the door and down the stairs into the lobby.

The trio giggled before following him out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

* * *

_**Me:** Okay, not as long as the last one, but still pretty long. I have to say, I like this one.  
**Kratos:** It was good.  
**Lloyd:** I liked it! I got wings!!  
**Me:** ....o.o Lloyds' actually complementing me!! OMG!! Call the medics to check his head!!  
**Lloyd..?:** That's not nice...-sobs-  
**Me:** ...sorry....  
**Lloyd?!:** Its okay!! -giggles-  
**Me:** ...wait a second! -pulls off wig to see....Colette!- Oh god..what'd you do to Lloyd?  
**Colette:** He's in the closet!! -giggles-  
**Me:** Kratos..save your son before Zelos gets to him...  
**Kratos:** -wide eyes- ...?! -runs off to the closet-  
**Me:** ANYWAYS...REVIEW!!!! Or...I'll through a brick at your pet cat!! -dramatic music plays-  
**Lloyd:** -walks out of closet- Word count was....2,721!! Yay!!_


	6. Maybe They Do Care

**Ch. 6: Maybe They Do Care**

_**SilverMoon:** Okayz! I've finally decided to update this. _

_**Lloyd:** Uh huh....i don't really care. _

_**Me:** Well.....I don't care about you! -smacks-_

**Lloyd:** Okay...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.

_**Me:** I NEVER TOLD YOU TO DISCLAIM ME YOU JERK!!!_

_**Lloyd:** -falls asleep out of boredom- _

_**Me:** Whatever....Onto the story...I guess...._

_

* * *

_

Okay..everyone seemed to be angry at him lately. They all kept avoiding him and giving him really weird stares like they didn't even know who he was. Lloyd was acting like he normally did, nothing different here. Or, so he thought.

According to the group (that being Raine, Genis, Colette and Kratos) seemed to think that everything had changed about Lloyd. Especially now that he was an angel and that whenever they got into a fight, he took out his wings and fought while floating in the air. It was like they were all scared of him, even though Colette did the same thing all the time.

But secretly, every night he would go out and practice flying. He was always trying to learn how to do some of the stunts that his dad could do when Lloyd was little. He would picture the memory in his mind and take off, twisting and turning in midair while prentending to fight some imaginary enemy.

One night, while Lloyd was up in the air, no more than a shadow on the midnight sky, Kratos had wandered away from camp to get some more firewood while Raine kept watch. He had looked up because he saw a shadow on the ground and saw Lloyd flying in the air, an exact image of Kratos when he was still with Anna.

He gasped slightly and almost dropped the firewood. Lloyd's wings completely blended in with the night sky now. Only the edges of his wings were still glowing silver. The middles of each wing had turned into a cerulean blue, like Kratos'.

Both his swords were out and he was slashing at enemies that weren't there. He hadn't even noticed Kratos walking up he was so lost in his imaginary fight. With each slash he would do, he would dodge again or twist to the right or left. He did a summersault, yelling "Tempest!" while he was still flipping. When he was straight up he brought both swords down and screamed "Fierce Demon Fang!".

He was breathing heavily and sweating pretty badly. "I should probably go back now...." He muttered and descended to the ground.

"You're guard was still open. Even the slightest opening could lead to your death." Kratos said then turned and walked out of the clearing. Lloyd looked up having just realized he was there.

"Um...thanks?" He said. He put his wings away and jogged after Kratos.

He helped him collect firewood and then they headed back to camp together.

"Where were you?" Raine asked as they walked into the clearing that was their camp. She looked at Lloyd with slight fascination. Of course, he was nothing more than another research subject to her. Suddenly, he felt bad for Colette.

"I was out training while flying. Sorry..." He mumbled and went over to his sleeping bag.

"I can take over watch now, if you'd like." Kratos said while sitting down beside Noishe. Raine nodding in thanks and went back to her sleeping bag, which was conviently farther away from Lloyd's.

Lloyd turned over onto his side, facing away from everyone. He felt no need to sleep, but decided to try anyways. Its not that he _couldn't _sleep, he just perferred not to. He really didn't need to eat or sleep anymore, but he liked to anyways. To remind him that he was still half human. He could hear everyones even breathing, even Kratos'. Even though he was nightwatch, he always had calm breathing.

Eventually, Lloyd managed to force himself into a peacful sleep.

----

When he woke, there was a bunch of noises. Very loud ones. He sat up and opened his eyes, realizing that it was everyone's voices and Genis making breakfast. No one had bothered to wake him up.

"Morning guys." Lloyd said, sitting down by the fire. Genis handed him a plate of eggs and a fork.

"Morning Lloyd." Genis said with a small smile. Okay, so not _everyone_ hated him. Maybe just Raine and Kratos. Well, how _could _Kratos hate him when he was his son?

_'Which reminds me,'_ Lloyd thought, _'I have yet to ask him about that.'_ "Yum, eggs." Lloyd said while digging into the food on his plate. As he chewed he took the time to see what everyone was doing at the moment. Raine was still eating, Kratos was packing their bags onto Noishe, and Colette was attempting to roll up her sleeping bag without tripping.

So far, they had unlocked one seal, the seal of fire. Sad right? Currently, they were on their way to the Ossa Trail and after that, came trying to find a boat to get to Palmacosta. Kratos had said something about a place called "Izoold" or something like that.

"Hey um, Lloyd?" Colette asked from where she was standing. Lloyd looked up, "Could you roll this up for me? I'm sorry if its too much of a thing to do!" She said, holding her hands out and looking down at her feet.

"Don't apologize so much." Lloyd said and walked over to roll up the sleeping bag. He finished and handed it to Kratos to attach it to Noishe. Lloyd looked at Kratos, meeting his gaze for a second before Kratos' eyes looked quickly off to the side.

----

Once they had gotten on the Ossa Trail, Lloyd could tell that something was up. He kept glancing at Kratos, as if to get him to understand that something was wrong. But Kratos didn't seem to be telepathic because all he did was keep on walking like it was a sunny weekend in the middle of Iselia.

When they got to around a quarter of the way in, he heard footsteps and soon someone jumped down from a cliff, yelling, "Stop!" He saw it was a girl who wore unusual purple clothes with a pink sash tied around her waste. She had black hair tied in a short ponytail in a pink ribbon as well.

"Who're you?" Lloyd asked, immediately on guard. She looked at him, and noticed his wings.

"Are you the Chosen of Regeneration?!" She yelled. She had been told it was a girl, and here was a boy, with midnight/cerulean blue wings on his back.

"Actually, that's me!" Colette said with a chuckle.

"Prepare to die!" The assasin yelled and charged at Colette. Colette tried to move but ended up tripping and flipping a nearby switch, opening a trap door. The assasin fell in, having not noticed it and the blonde angel started to freak out.

Genis proceeded to say some really smart stuff about Gravity or something. Lloyd really didn't care at this point, he just wanted to get moving, in case the assasin climbed back out.

"Gravity constant...?" Lloyd asked, looking very confused.

"We should get going." Kratos said. Everyone quickly agreed and they were on their way...again.

----

When they had reached the end, a huge piece of wood attached to the cliffside fell down and the assasin was back again. This resulted in a battle that Lloyd really would liked to have not fought.

First, he charged at the bird, wings out, and flipped in midair shouting, "Psye(sp?) Tempest!" He managed to slice the bird on both of its shoulders, effectively wounding it. He floated behind it and quickly flew up and spiraled down, straight at the bird. He brought his swords together and stabbed it right in the arm, cutting it off.

While he was rebounding, he didn't notice the assasin coming up behind him until she shouted "Pyre Seal!" He felt some force hit him and flew backwards and into a tree. He grunted and stood up, ingoring the searing pain in his back. He flew towards the black haird women and sliced her across her back, not wanting to kill her. That was his mistake.

She had managed to grab ahold of his wings and rip out a good sized chunk of his feathers. He screamed in agony and it the ground, hard. He felt tears well up in his eyes. He heard Kratos yell his name and then the assasin scream.

He shakily stood and looked around him. The girl had ran away and the bird had disappeared. He turned to asses the damage done to his wings, he noticed that part of the outer ring of feathers was missing. Also that there was a red liquid on them, blood.

The group walked over to him and Kratos healed his back.

Lloyd rubbed his injured wing, trying to soothe the pain. He grimaced when he hit the damaged part. He looked at everyone, who were also staring at him, worried looks on their faces.

"Are you alright?" Genis asked staring at his wing.

"Yeah. Just stings a bit." He gave a pained smile. "Well, are we going or not?" He asked with a more excited grin that was obviously forced. They all nodded and walked off. Lloyd put his wings away with a wince and walked after them.

When he caught up, Kratos gave him a worried stare. Lloyd smiled, "Don't worry. I'm fine." He gave him a thumbs up and ran to catch up with Genis. They began a random conversation.

Kratos worried stare boring a whole into his back to whole time.

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_**Me:** Okay, so not long at all but...I still liked the chapter. I hope you did too. :D I tried to make it over 2,000 words, but I think I might've failed. I haven't saved it yet so we'll see. XD_

_**Lloyd:** Well..it was okay...._

_**Me:** OMG! Did you actually enjoy this chapter Lloyd? Seriously? I'm shocked. _

_**Lloyd:** I'm going back to sleep now. -falls asleep- _

_**Me:** Okay..so this was written in about an hour and I really didn't spell check it so...yeah...um....I hope you are all glad that I at least updated! I'll write more soon, I swear it!!!_

_**Lloyd:** -mumbles in sleep- Wordcount was........1,934...good job. -snore-_

_**Me:** REVIEW OR I WILL STEAL YOUR SOUL AND PUT IT IN MY PILLOWCASE OF SOULS!!!_


	7. Getting to Palmacosta

_**Ch. 7:** **Getting to Palmacosta**_

_**SilverMoon:** Okay, I know I've epically failed at this story, and none of you probably want to even read it anymore because my updates suck. But, I'm gonna keep on trucking on this one soo....please keep reading and waiting? I know, its a hard thing to do and half of you probably already gave up on me...but just know that I'm gonna keep trying and working on it.  
**Lloyd:** Wow...that was oddly...inspirational....O.o  
**Me:** Yeah...so anyways, this authors note is gonna be short. DISCLAIM ME VIDEO GAME CHARACTER!!!  
**All ToS peeps:** SILVERMOON DOESN'T OWN TOS OR NAMCO!!!  
**Me:** Mmhm, that's right. Anyways, onto the story!! I might've got the part with Aifread off a little bit because I don't remember much for that part. But I think that Luin was his hometown._

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Lloyd sighed and decided to talk to the man standing in the middle of the street. Currently, they were in Izoold and trying to find information so they could get a ship. They apparently needed to find out something about a guy named Aifread(idk if I spelt that right.) because this girl kept talking about him. Raine suspected her of knowing something about a ship.

Walking over to the man he started a simple conversation that eventually led to the man saying something like, "There was this guy named Aifread that left to go back to his hometown, Luin, a while back. We don't know if he made it safely or not."

_'Ah ha! Theres the info I need.' _He thanked the man and went to go track down Kratos and/or Raine. Walking through the streets was quite easy, even though it was around dinner time and the sun was about halfway set, casting an eerie orange and red glow on the small village. He guessed that this place wasn't really crowded, like Iselia was.

He walked to the area where the port was and saw Kratos discussing something with one of the ship people. Kratos soon turned and walked towards Lloyd. Kratos had a frusterated look plastered on his face, but when he saw Lloyd, the usual emotionless mask replaced it.

"I haven't found any information." He stated as they walked.

"I did. There was this one guy who told me that Aifread left a while back to go to Luin which was his hometown." Lloyd said with a triumphant smile.

Finally, after a while of searching the found Colette who was busy petting a puppy. Next to her was Raine who was chatting unenthusiastically with a woman standing next to her. Next to her was Genis, who was watching Colette. They looked up when Lloyd and Kratos walked up.

"Find anything?" Lloyd said conversationally as he and Kratos walked up to them. The woman beside Raine gave them a disapproving stare and walk off in the direction of what seemed to be her house.

"No. None of us did. How about you two?" Raine responded as they made their way to an inn where they were staying for the night.

"Lloyd found something," Kratos said, "he found out that Aifread left for Luin a while back." He reached the inn first and held open the wooden door for Colette, Raine and Lloyd.

Walking into his and Kratos' room, Lloyd sat down on one of the three beds in there. Kratos joined him on that one and Raine and Colette sat on the other one while Genis sat on the third one. They stayed quiet for a bit, mulling over the information they had just recieved.

"Okay," Raine spoke up, "so obviously we are going to go talk to this girl tomorrow, right?"

"Yup." Lloyd replied, yawning.

"Then we'll rest up tonight and head out tomorrow at dawn." Kratos stated. They all agreed and exited to their proper rooms, leaving Kratos, Lloyd and Genis left to their own devices.

"Well, I think that I'm going to go to bed." Genis stood from the bed, yawning and stretching at the same time.

"Hm...I think I'm going to head to bed too." Lloyd said and walked over to a corner of the room to remove his jacket. He set it down on a chair and chose the middle bed. He pulled back ot covers and slid under, sighing in contempt yet grimacing at the same time because of the twinge of pain where his wings usually were. "Night Genis. Night Kratos." He mumbled sleepily and felt his eyelids close.

Genis did the same as Lloyd and slid into his own bed. "Night." He said and fell asleep as well.

Kratos muttered a goodnight and settled down by the window to wait for dawn.

--

The next morning was one that Lloyd would rather have avoided. He was never quite the morning person. Which explains his periodic lateness for class back in Iselia. He remembered how Raine would always rant on about how she would give him a detention if he was late again. But she never did.

He stood up from bed and stretched. He was grateful for the long sleep. Every time they had camped out he would always go off and train in the middle of the night. Even with an injured wing, he still tried to train and ignore the pain. He brought his wings out, stretching them and wincing as the injured part of the wound strectched out.

Bringing his injured wing around to his face, he saw how much of it had healed. A small portion of the feathers had come back, a few small ridges where feathers were starting to come back. Putting them away, he picked up his jacket and slipped onto his shoulders.

Walking out of the room and into the lobby, he saw that almost everyone was already gathered there. Raine was up in her room gathering all her things together. He sat down in a nearby chair and munched on some bread. Genis sat next to him, studying some new chant for a spell. Kratos was talking to the innkeeper about their fee for the stay.

Colette came down the stairs, stumbled, and fell for the last three steps, saving herself from falling with her wings. Floating down, she brushed off her clothes and put on a bright smile, "Good morning everyone!"

"Good morning Colette." Genis and Lloyd said simultaneously. Lloyd stood and walked over to Kratos, finally getting fed up with waiting.

"Okay, so what's up?" Lloyd asked.

"I was just talking to him about the girl we are going to meet. Her name is Lyla," Kratos said before turning away from the gaping innkeeper who was still shocked by Colette's appearance. He turned towards the stairs just as Raine walked down them. "Ready to leave?" He questioned as he grabbed her bag to attach to Noishe who was waiting outside in a nearby horse pen.

"Yes, lets go." She said and they walked out of the inn.

They walked around the city for a while, still stocking up on food and items. Sighing, Lloyd looked around for Desians. After all that had happened with the Desians, he was surprised that he didn't see any. Looking back towards the front of their group and noticed that they were headed towards the house that the girl, Lyla, lived in.

They entered and saw that she was standing by the window whispering, "Aifread, where are you...?" Lloyd walked up to her and touched her shoulder gently. She jumped and turned around, narrowly avoiding wacking him in the head with a frying pan. "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" She yelled loudly, raising the pan again.

"Um...I heard you saying something about Aifread...." Lloyd started.

"We think that he went back to Luin." Genis finished.

Lyla's eyes widened at the statement, "Crap..." She muttered and pushed past them, out of the room.

"Lets follow her." Kratos said.

--

When they got to the dock, they saw her arguing with one of the ships captains. He gave her an angry look, "No! I will not put you in danger by bringing you over seas!" He shouted, voice volume rising slowly.

"Then they'll go in my place!" She shouted and turned around to face them, "You will do it, won't you?" She gave them a threatening glare while slowly pulling the frying pan out from behind her back.

Lloyd flinched, "Um...what do you guys think?" He turned to the rest of the group.

"Well, if we can get across the ocean I think its a good idea." Kratos said.

_'Always the voice of reason...' _Lloyd sighed in his head. "Okay, we'll do it."

"Good. Get this letter to Aifread as soon as possible." She ordered with a spark of mischief and anger in her eyes. She turned to the man behind her, "Thank you Max." With that, she was gone. Lloyd looked at the letter cautiously before putting it in his pocket.

"When you're ready, come talk to me." Max said before turning back to his ship and loading some more supplies onto it.

"Um..well, I think that we're ready to go." Lloyd said. The rest of the group agreed. Lloyd poked Max on the shoulder and he jumped before glancing up at him.

"What?"

"We're ready." Lloyd replied. Max nodded and moved so they could get onto the boat. It rocked a bit as more weight was added, but Lloyd thought it would hold.

Raine shivered and stepped on, sinking to her knees and avoiding going into a feedle position. Kratos noticed this but didn't say anything about it. Colette stood on the bow of the boat, enjoying the warm salty air on her face. Genis stood next to Lloyd, teasing him by poking his side and trying to get him to fall over.

"Genis stop it! You'll make me fall out!!" Lloyd said, spinning his arms before regaining his balance.

"Yeah, but you could just use your wings." Genis whispered to him.

"No, I don't want to make a scene." Lloyd mumbled back before walking up to stand next to Colette. He stretched and yawned slightly, they had gotten up pretty early that morning. As he arched his back, he winced. His wings, even though not out, throbbed in pain where they were hidden. He sighed and sat down on the wooden deck.

--

He grinned happily as they got off the boat. The trip had been long but they were finally here. "Wow! This cities big! I've never been to Palmacosta before." Lloyd said enthusiastically as he and Kratos looked over the weapons displayed before them.

"Not many people from your continent can afford the trip over." He stated and picked up a steel blade. He examined it for a minute before selling his old weapon and buying the new one. He slid it delicately into its sheath.

Lloyd glanced the weapons up and down, picking out two twin blades that he thought looked cool. The gleam on the blades from the sun made his hurt. He decided that he liked this one and did the same as Kratos. He slipped the two blades into their sheaths, sides immediately adjusting to the new weight.

"Lets go find Colette, Genis and Raine." Kratos said, purchasing a new kendama for Genis, two new chakrams for Colette and a new staff for Raine.

Lloyd nodded and they took the closest path that led towards the actual city and not the port.

When they arrived they noticed a small conflict going on between Colette, Genis and Raine and five other people. The arguement was soon over though and Colette was bowing so much that Lloyd thought she was going to fall over.

"What's up?" He asked as Kratos distributed the weapons.

"Colette managed to knock over some guy and broke the Palma Potion in his hand. So we agreed to buy them a new one." Genis said as he examined the new kendama in his hands.

Kratos sighed.

This was going to be a long journey.

* * *

_**Me:** Okay, probably not as long as you would have liked, nor what I would have liked. But I wanted to post this so no one would get angry....so yeah....not to mention the crappy ending. T_T  
**Lloyd:** You know what? I think you did just fine.  
**Me:** Um....-hides in bomb shelter- Is the apocolypse happening or what?  
**Lloyd:** Jerk....  
**Me:** Anyways, review and I'll let you join me in my bomb shelter as we prepare for the apocolpyse that is LLOYD'S fault. "  
**Lloyd:** -sighs- I try to do something nice and this is what happens. See why I'm not nice to you?  
**Me:** XD Anyways, can I get a wordcount?  
**Lloyd:** Whatever. Wordcount was.........2,321!! Good job!!  
**Me:** REVIEW!!!_


	8. Chocolat In Danger

_**Ch. 8: Chocolat In Danger**_

_**SilverMoon:** Hey dudes. Late on the update again....T_T Um..happy new year?  
**Lloyd:** A bit too late for that.  
**Me:** Yeah.....anyways, I have horrible news! I'm really going to need to get braces soon because my teeth are turning inward by themselves. Also, I have to have two more cavities filled. XD I went to the dentist today, as you can see.  
**Lloyd:** You're rambling.  
**Me:** Yeah...I am....XD Disclaim me!  
**Lloyd:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto the story!_

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"Here you go," Lloyd mumbled as he handed the Palma Potion to the man standing across from him. He let out a defiant huff as the man examined it to make sure it was real.

"We probably shouldn't hang around here much longer," One of the members of the group, a female, stated as the man (Lloyd guessed he was the leader) placed the potion carefully in a sack on his back.

"Yeah, lets go," he turned to Lloyd, "I hope you learned your lesson." With that, he and the rest of his party were gone.

Lloyd grumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "Why do I have to be the messenger?" before turning and heading back to the inn they were staying at.

He pushed open the door and felt a blast of warm heat hit his face. He stood there for a moment before heading up the stairs and walking down the hallway to his and Kratos's room. The carpet was soft under his boots and it silenced their thumping on the floor. The inn was a nice one, nicer than usual anyways. It was one of the only inns around that actually had carpet. Not to mention the walls were actually painted, a nice red with a gold border.

Once he reached the room, he walked in to see everyone gathered into a circle, discussing what to do now that they were here. "Hey guys," Lloyd said as he stepped into the room and kicked off his boots, "what's up?" They all glanced at him as he went over to a bed and sat down.

"We were deciding on whether we should ask around about the seals or go look for them ourselves," Raine said, standing and straightening out her clothes, "so far we're thinking about asking around."

"Its the logical choice," Kratos said as he also stood, "for now though, I think it would be best if we rested. The sun is almost gone and we'll be having an early start tomorrow." The rest of the party agreed and began to clear out of the room.

"Goodnight Lloyd!" Colette said with a smile.

As they exited the room, Lloyd decided that he would sleep in the bed nearest to the window. Kratos, while organizing his possessions, turned his head and gave him a questioning look before turning back to his things. Lloyd removed his jacket and set it on a nearby chair, "Night Kratos." He went over to his bed, and laid down.

"Goodnight Lloyd." Kratos said before laying down and closing his eyes.

--

The next morning Lloyd was up early, having not slept very well the last night. His wings were still giving him grief. Even thought Kratos had been repeatedly healing them everyday. So far, the under layer of feathers had only grown back. Odd thing was that his wings had been completely silver when he got them, but now they were cerulean blue with bright silver on the edges.

He was settled in at a table downstairs and eating some bread when Kratos came down. His hair was still messy from sleep and his eyes gave a blank stare.

Kratos shambled over to a chair and sat down, "You're up early."

"I didn't sleep very well last night. But it doesn't matter, I'm still as energized as usual!" He pumped his fist into the air and smiled brightly.

Soon enough, the others joined them. Genis looked like he was going to pass out any minute. While Raine looked well rested and ready to go. Colette was the last one to arrive at the table. Her eyes sparkled and her eyes were bright with energy.

"Good morning everyone!" She said with a smile. Lloyd offered her a piece of bread but she declined, "No thanks, I'm not very hungry right now. I'll eat something later thoug."

"Alright...." Lloyd muttered and began to eat the piece that he offered Colette.

After breakfast was taken care of, Lloyd and the others headed out of the inn and towards the town center.

The crossed the bridge that led across the small river leading through the town. They walked down the steps and onto the stone pavement, and stopped. There was a little boy talking to a tall blonde man that caught their attention. A little girl was standing behind the blonde man.

"Governor-General Dorr," the little boy said, "dad was taken away to a ranch and hasn't come back!" The boy looked truly worried about his father.

"Hang on just a little longer. I promised to bring everyone who's been taken away, right? So just--"

"But I'm lonely!" The little boy said, the volume in his voice rising a little bit.

The little girl spoke up, "Don't worry. Father is a friend to everyone in this city. My mother was killed by an illness, but your father should still be alive. I'm sure he'll come back." Lloyd thought there was something about this little girl that was...off. She seemed strange, and moved too stiffly, like she wasn't used to doing what she was doing.

"Really?"

"Yes, they were all taken prisoner because they fought the Desians. I promise to rescue them." The man, Dorr, patted the boy on the head and turned, walking back into a bigger building off towards the side.

"We should go talk to that man." Raine suggested. They all nodded and headed off towards the big building.

They entered through door to find something that looked like a meeting going on. A man with dark hair stood by Dorr and the little girl was on the other side. A big table was in the middle of the room and Lloyd noticed a bunch of papers spread out across it. The two men looked up and the guards tensed when they entered.

"Greetings travelers! We welcome travelers as to follow the teachings of Martel." Dorr said with a smile. As soon as he said that, the guards untensed, along with Lloyd and Kratos.

"Thanks," Lloyd murmured before getting back on task, "um...we were actually looking for something called the 'Book of Regeneration'." Dorr eyed them suspiciously.

"Its a family treasure. Why would you need it?"

"We wish for you to lend it to us," Raine said, quickly glancing at the guards in the corner, "sorry for being rude but we're aiding the Chosen of Regeneration on her journey. We wish to use your book."

"Governor...." The dark haired man beside Dorr whispered in warning.

"I know," Dorr looked back at them and glared, "The Chosen was here moments ago! How dare you defile the name!" He said, the guards immediately surrounded them, as if by some silent order.

Colette seemed to freak out for a moment, and began to fall backwards. Her arms flailed out beside her uselessly as she fell. When she hit the ground, her pink wings sprouted from her back and everyone in the room (besides the party) gasped. She stood up and brushed herself off, "Oops..."

"The Chosen of Mana...." The dark haired man whispered to himself as the governor gave the order to stop the guards, "this is without a doubt the real Chosen..."

"So the book we gave to the other Chosen...the other was an imposter!" Dorr realized with horror.

"Please forgive our insolence Chosen." The other man said with a slight bow.

"Stupid humans..." Genis muttered and then recieved a smack from Raine.

"Um...its alright." Colette said, blushing furiously.

"I believe we should take our leave then." Kratos suggested. The rest of the group agreed and they exited the building. The mercenary sighed and massaged his temples. _How stupid could you get...?_

"So...what next?" Lloyd asked, crossing his arms behind his head as they walked.

"I think we should just look for the seals on our own," Raine said. Everyone nodded their heads and then they decided to search the area around the city.

--

Eventually, they reached a place called Hanakonestia (sp?) Peak. There, they entered a small house that was placed randomly next to the mountain. Inside it was a big assortment of items. Lots of them were rare. In the corner, was the Book of Regeneration. Next to that, was a short man with an angry look on his face.

"What do you want? If you want a pass, its probably too much money for you to pay." He eyed them suspiciouslly, shifting on his feet as if to protect his stash of things.

"I noticed you have a rare book there," Raine said, pointing it out, "tell me. Where did you get it?"

"The Chosen of Regeneration gave it to me. Why?" The beady eyed man glared at them.

"We're devote followers of Martel. We wish to study the book." Kratos explained, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. At the moment, they knew nothing of this man. He could be dangerous.

"Hm....for a price."

"What do you want?" Lloyd said.

"An item. The Spiritua Statue."

"Hey, I think I seen that at the House of Salvation near here," Genis said, "lets go check it out!" Getting excited, the young half-elf rushed out of the room with a big smile on his face.

"Genis wait!" Raine said, sighing. She rushed out after her brother, the others in tow.

--

When they got outside, there was a group of people gathered around in a circle. "What's going on?" Lloyd questioned the person closest to him. She gave him an incredulous look.

"You don't know? Well, its best you stay here for now."

"Why?"

"A group of Desians was seen heading towards Palmacosta." The lady turned away from Lloyd and began conversing with the person next to her. He looked at the rest of them and it was decided that they would go back to Palmacosta to see what's going on.

--

When they got there, there was no one on the streets. They headed into the town center, they saw a bunch of desians gathered around a hanging site. There was an older lady that looked like she was going to be hanged any second. They recognized her from the item shop they often visited. Her daughter was Chocolat.

One of the Desians standing next to the wooden platform spoke up, "Out of the way, Lord Magnius approaches!"

A big man with red frizzy hair tied back into a ponytail walked into the town center, and a bunch of Desians saluted. A man near one of the Desians spoke, "Its Magnius from the eastern ranch."

"That's LORD Magnius, VERMIN!!" He then proceeded to grab the man by his neck and break it. The man fell to the ground limply, eyes lifeless. Lloyd stared in horror and anger at the redhead.

"This woman disobeyed Lord Magnius's wishes and refused to supply him with supplies." One started.

The other continued, "Therefore, while the designated death count has been exceeded, we have been given permission by Lord Magnius to kill this woman."

"No. We can't let this happen!" Lloyd said, preparing to take action.

Just then, a girl in a yellow dress ran up to the Desians, "Leave her alone! You think Governor-General Dorr will let you get away with this?" The girl was Chocolat, the shop owners daughter.

Magnius laughed, "Dorr? You think Dorr will save you?" He then gave the order for them to cut the rope.

"No!"

Just then, a rock flew past Magnius's head. He glared down to see the little boy from earlier with an armful of rocks. He was bringing his arm back to throw another one.

Magnius jumped down and stalked towards the kid. That's when Lloyd stepped in. He did a quick demon fang at the ranch leader who fell to his knees. "You vermin!"

"No, protect Lord Magnius!" Three Desians ran in front of Magnius.

"Lloyd, do you want this to turn out like another Iselia?" It was Raine who spoke up. She was holding her staff and looking like she wanted to do something too.

"It won't! Because I'll stop it! And besides, we have the Chosen on our side! Right Colette?"

"Yeah!"

They then fought the Desians. The battle was too easy, and Lloyd could tell it was just to distract them.

Afterwards, the remaining Desians warped away with their leader. Then, Chocolat ran over to them.

"Thanks so much! Come back to our shop with us, please!"

They oblidged and soon, they arrived. The two women then thanked them repeatedly, saying how much they were grateful.

Afterwards, they decided to go and find the Spiritua Statue.

--

Soon enough, they arrived. Once there, a soldier ran up to them with a worried look on his face. "Chosen! I'm sorry to interuppt your journey but we've just recieved news that a tour guide was captured by Desians. Her name is Chocolat!"

* * *

_**Me:** Wow, that was a long one. I've been working on it for three hours now. I hope you liked it. :D  
**Lloyd:** I -yawn- thought it was okay. Lots of stuff happened in it.  
**Me:** Mmhm. I had to look up the walkthrough for some parts. So thanks to **Maiyatsumi** from youtube for uploading the walkthrough so I could get the lines! :D Care to say the wordcount Lloyd? Before you take your nap?  
**Lloyd:** Okay...wordcount was.....2,553! Good night.  
**Me:** Review and you'll get a happy authoress!!_


	9. The Palmacosta Ranch part 1

_**Ch. 9: The Palmacosta Ranch part 1**_

__

**SilverMoon:** Hey peeps. I've suddenly become interested in this story again. So for those of you reading "Once Upon a Moonless Night" (if any) might have to wait awhile before the next chapter comes out. I'm working on what to do next there. For some odd reason, whenever I write I seem to back myself into a corner, and then dig my way out. So now, I'm digging my way out.  
**???:** Hello again.  
**Me:** Hey! You followed me! (you -reader- would only get that joke if you read the authors note for the newest chapter on OUAMN)  
**???:** Mmhm. So, disclaimer?  
**Me:** Yup!  
**???:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. She does own me, however.  
**Me:** I do..? Wow. Beware, Lloyd may be a bit OOC in this chapter. I made him a bit more calmer. But it shouldn't make it that bad. ONTO THE STORY!

* * *

"Chocolat?!" Lloyd gasped.

"Chosen one, please help us." The knight, through his helmet, was giving Colette a pleading stare.

"Lloyd, lets help them." Colette turned to him.

"Okay."

So it was decided.

Lloyd cursed under his breath as they made their way towards the Palmacosta Ranch. They were moving so slowly. The stupid monsters kept on attacking them, and no matter how many times they tried to escape, it never worked.

"Calm down Lloyd, your nervousness is causing you to screw up." Kratos whispered next to him as they entered another battle.

Lloyd stepped off to the side and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and imagined a blank, white space. Then, when he opened them, they were focused and ready for battle.

He charged at the nearest monster and quickly dispatched it with a Tiger Blade. The next, however, wasn't so easy. He and Kratos worked on this one together. As a finishing blow, they charged at it at the same time and yelled, "Cross Thrust!" Their swords making an 'x' on the monster as it faded into nothing.

The battle was over, but they were still getting no where. Lloyd felt anger building up inside him, but closed his eyes and calmed himself again. He felt something, like it was watching him, and turned to see a fast approaching monster. Bringing his swords into an offensive stance, he ran at it and flipped right over the top, swords pointing downwards like an oustretched limb, "Psi Tempest!"

As they were surrounded by another group of monsters, Lloyd growled. This had to be taken care of quickly. Bringing out his wings, he stepped to the back of the group. He had been practicing a technique lately. After watching Colette do it many times, he figured that since he was an angel, he should be able to learn it.

"Oh holy one, I beg of you to reveal thy glory," He chanted as the mana swirled up around him like a wave crashing onto a cliffs' edge, "Angel Feathers!"

A whirlwind of midnight blue feathers swirled around the battlefield, slicing through all the enemies. Once they were all dispatched, Lloyd kneeled onto his knees. Even after practicing it so many times, it still took so much out of him.

"Lloyd! Are you alright?" Genis said, running to his friends aid.

"Y..yeah...just a little tired," He swallowed an orange gel and stood up, "Lets get moving."

As they walked further on, Genis fell back beside Lloyd, "How did you do that? It was awesome!"

Lloyd blushed and murmured, "It was nothing. I just figured since that I'm an angel that I should be able to do magic like that too. But it takes more out of me than it does Colette. I've just got to keep practicing."

"Still, that was cool." Genis replied, grinning at Lloyd.

--

Finally, they were at the ranch. It seemed to have taken forever.

As soon as they got there, Neil ran up to them from behind some bushes, "Chosen one! Wait!"

"Neil, we heard about Chocolat being kidnapped!" Lloyd said, still a bit out of breath from casting the technique earlier. There was an odd look on Neil's face, something was wrong.

They followed him behind some trees to talk more privately.

"I would like you to go ahead and just leave the Palmacosta region." He stated as soon as they were out of earshot and eyesight of the nearby guards.

"What'll happen to Chocolat?" Colette asked, worry displayed all over her face.

"Thats..."

"So it is a trap." Kratos said from beside Colette.

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd turned to Kratos.

"It was a mystery that the Desians would leave a city with a militia alone. It seems that Dorr has been hiding something from everyone in that city."

"Yes, exactly. Choosing not to crush the seeds of rebellion must mean they weren't a threat." Raine finished for Kratos. Neil was silently praising them for their smarts. He didn't want to have to say such horrible things about the man he's trusted for so long.

"It is as you say. Dorr was paying the Desians money. For what reason I do not know," He began, voice becoming quieter as footsteps got louder and then faded, "Dorr was working with them to lead you all into a trap. It'd be best for you to just move on with the world regeneration and leave this to us."

"Yes, that would be best." Kratos murmured, ears intent on listening for anymore soldiers.

"But what about Chocolat?" Colette said, clasping her hands together in front of herself. Her eyes were pools of worry and anxiousness for their friend.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with Kratos on this one." Raine crossed her arms, to show that her choice would not be moved unless it was impossible otherwise.

"We can't just leave her!" Lloyd protested, "She could die if we do!"

"I agree with Lloyd! I wan't to save Chocolat." Colette defiantly glared at Raine and Kratos.

"If the Chosen wishes it, then I will go along." Kratos sighed, children.

"Fine, do what you wish. But that doesn't mean I am not coming along too," Raine said and picked her staff up from the ground. The rest of the group gave a happy cheer, "please be quiet though. Do you want to get caught?"

They immediately quieted down, "So...where are we going first Chosen? Dorr's or the ranch?" Kratos asked, shifting his stance.

"Um...Lloyd?"

"Eh...I guess we'll go to the ranch first. I mean, we can't just leave here to go all the way to Palmacosta with Chocolat still held captive. Who knows what could happen in that time?"

So it was decided, they would infiltrate the ranch.

Upon arriving at a clearing, they were immediately surrounded by a large group of desians. Lloyd growled, further frustrating himself. He took a deep breath took off.

The first few were easy. Lloyd took out one of the magic casters first while Kratos dispatched the other. As soon as they took out those ones, more replaced them. He heard Genis shout from behind him "Stalagmite!" and jumped back to dodge a barrage of pointy rocks sticking up from the ground.

After the fight was over, they continued on into the ranch.

--

Lloyd felt a wave of relief as Neil exited the room with the prisoners. Now he wouldn't be distracted by worry while they were rescuing Chocolat. As he looked around the room, he noticed a child in front of him, "Aren't you going to escape?"

"I saw a desian holdin' this. He dropped it and I thought it was important so I picked it up. You can have it." He was holding out a small blue card. Lloyd took it and placed it in his pocket as the child left with the others.

"Lets go Lloyd." Genis grabbed his arm and pulled him off to follow Raine, Kratos and Colette.

As they entered another room, Lloyd ran into something hard, "Ow!" He rubbed his arm where he hit it and felt around for the object he hit. It turned out it was invisible, "so...the point of an invisible wall is...?"

"Lets try the sorcerers' ring." Raine suggested and pointed the ring at the area where the wall was. When it activated, a large green cube phased into existence.

"Cool!!" Lloyd said excitedly.

Kratos got an idea and began to pull the cube towards a bridge in between two platforms. There were five cube shaped holes cut into it, and they all had platforms on the bottom. He figured that if he could get the cube in the hole, it would create a walkway.

Once the block was over there, Kratos pushed it forward and it landed with a _thunk_.

"Oh...so that's how it works. Shouldn't there be more?" Lloyd asked, "try the ring again." He suggested to Raine. As she did, he took out his wings and floated up a bit. He saw at least four other blocks placed into corners. He floated back down to tell the others of his discovery.

"So, find anything?" Colette inquired as he landed and his wings dispersed into thin air.

"Yup. There's four other blocks. If we can get them over to where Kratos is, then we will have a walkway to use instead of going back and fourth between the doors."

The others agreed to this plan and set to work.

After the henious task was taken care of, they had discovered a walkway to another seperate room. Lloyd was with Kratos and they were scouting this area while Raine, Genis and Colette were looking elswhere.

There was a tall wall that Lloyd was sure he saw something shimmer on top.

"Hang on Kratos," Lloyd said as Kratos turned to leave, "let me check up there." He released his wings and flew up on top of the wall. As he got up there, he saw it shimmer again. Floating over to it, he saw that it was another card. A purple one.

As he came back down, Kratos asked, "What was it?"

"Its another one of those card thingys. Maybe if we use them on that warp pad out there, we can use the warp." Lloyd said as they walked back to the spot they were all supposed rendevous with everyone else.

"Except we need three of them. Maybe Raine found another one." Kratos suggested. They leaned against a nearby wall and decided to wait for the others to arrive.

When they did, Lloyd found out that they did indeed find the third card, a red one. It was in a Desians pocket that they had killed.

They went to the warp pad, put the cards in, and used the sorcerers' ring. Once they stepped on, there would be no going back. They would save Chocolat and take her back to Palmacosta.

Or so Lloyd thought.

* * *

_**Me:** So....yeah...kinda late with the update...THAT RHYMED!! :D  
**???:** Uhuh. It did.  
**Me:** I DIDN'T STEAL ANY COOKIES!!! -hides cookie jar-  
**???:** She is obviously hyper. So...ignore her.  
**Me:** That's not very nice. T_T  
**???:** Uhuh....the wordcount was--  
**Me:** I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD SAY THAT!!!  
**???:** 2,141!!  
**Me:** Whatever...T_T Review...  
**???:** Moper!  
**Me:** SHUT UP!! T_T  
**???:** So, Review and you'll get a cookie jar with a years supply of cookies in it!  
**Me:** Noo....I ate them all.  
**???:** Okay...so just...review....  
**Me:** YUP!! I ATE THEM ALLZ!  
**???:** -puts authoress to sleep- Night night. Anyways, review!_


	10. The Palmacosta Ranch part 2

__

**_Ch. 10: The Palmacosta Ranch part 2_**

**_SilverMoon: _**_Hey guys! I'm baaaaaccccckkkk!! So sorry for the long wait! But I had a 200 point essay to work on for my english class. I just turned it in last Monday so I decided, why not update since its been over a month? Yeah...I'm lazy like that.  
**???:** I think everyone knows that by now.  
**Me:** Probably...considering my update history. But I'm updating now...right?  
**???:** I guess. Want me to disclaim before you lose your idea?  
**Me:** Yes sir! And I just realized that I haven't made any mention of Lloyd losing the ability to sleep, eat or feel. Well...he lost the ability to sleep and feel. So his process is a tad bit different from Colette's because she lost sleep, eat and THEN feel. But ah well, what can you do? DISCLAIM ME FOR I AM DONE TALKING!!  
**???:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. You know, it would suck if you found out my true identity. I mean, what if I'm a girl? I would have to smack you.  
**Me:** ....-smirks evilly- Onto the story!! -chases after ??? man (or woman...?)- _

_

* * *

_

"You bastards! Let her go!" Lloyd shouted as the rest of the group faded into existence behind them. Chocolat was currently being held hostage by four desians, who were pulling out their weapons and preparing for a fight. Lloyd in turn pulled out his own weapons and heard the noise of Kratos and the rest of them grabbing their own.

The tension was high for a fraction of a second before the desians charged. Lloyd immediately ran for the one with the crossbow. He was the one that usually took out the long range fighters. Except for when there weren't any. Feeling the urge to gain higher ground, he released his wings. The wings themselves were almost completely healed, all he was missing now was about three or four feathers. Releasing them was like releasing chains that bound his wings in their hiding spot.

After the desians were taken care of, Chocolat ran over to them. Her face was pale and her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying, "Thank the Goddess Martel! I'm so relieved you're here!" She ran over to Colette and took her hands in her own, a grateful look in her eyes.

"Hey Chocolat...have you seen a room that had a lot of beeping instruments and confusing looking items?" Raine inquired after the happy reunion was done and over with.

"Um...I've seen Magnius go towards the back of this room and use something like the thing you just used. Would that have anything to do with what you're looking for?" She gestured toward a door that was placed next to where she had been standing.

"Lets give it a shot!" Lloyd said with a grin of confidence.

They walked through the door and into another room with the cross platforms. Straight ahead was the warp pad that Chocolat had been talking about. "There it is!" Lloyd said and walked towards it. He glanced back to see if everyone was following, suddenly feeling a feeling of dread rise into his stomach.

"Lets go, Lloyd." Kratos said from in front of him. Lloyd realized that everyone had already warped past him.

"Lloyd killed her!" Magnius shouted from his chair as Lloyd walked in, "See, there the killer is now. Do you really want to stay with the person who killed your grandmother, Marble?"

"No! Lloyd was...Lloyd was..." Genis muttered as Chocolat backed away from them, a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

"Stay away from me!" She shouted and ran behind the "safety" of two desians. They pulled out their weapons and charged. Kratos took on the one to the right while Colette started attacking the one going for Raine and Genis, who were casting.

"Lloyd look out!" Kratos shouted which broke Lloyd out of his daze. He just barely managed to avoid be stabbed in the chest by a desians blade. He slashed out with his own weapon, cutting the desians chest open. But he was stronger than Lloyd thought so he had to bring out his wings and fly up to avoid being hit by the sword.

"An angel?!" Magnius gasped.

Lloyd glanced at him for a second before dodging an arrow that was shot at him. He flew down and quickly despatched the desian. He landed on the ground and examined the battlefield. No one was critically injured, Genis suffered minor scratches along with Colette, who was rubbing an apple gel on Genis' arm. Kratos and Raine were just fine. Lloyd looked at himself and realized that his chest was bleeding from where the desian's blade had barely slashed his chest. Why couldn't he feel it?

"Let me heal you, Lloyd." Kratos said and walked over to his son.

Lloyd backed away, "I'm fine. But what about Chocolat?" He looked around and saw that the girl was exiting via warp pad with three more desians.

"The girl is gone. But now you have to face me!" Magnius' chair spun and landed right in front of Lloyd and Kratos. He jumped off and pulled out a huge scyth that looked like it could cut Lloyd in half with one swipe. He charged and immediately Lloyd and Kratos dodged to the left and right. Two desians appeared behind him to help in the fight.

"Can't do a fight without your lacky's Magnius?" Lloyd teased as he dodged another swipe from the sycth.

"Shut up verman!" Magnius jumped back behind his workers and began to cast.

Lloyd jumped back as well, figuring it was best to get this over with quick so they could go after Chocolat. He began casting the technique he'd been practicing on. Angel Feathers. He knew it would tire him out but he had to do it to finish it. He heard Colette beside him, casting as well. Suddenly, in the middle of the technique, he felt a surge of mana within him. "I've got it, Holy Lance!!" The rush of mana surged outward and enveloped Magnius and the two desians who were currently guarding him. Two huge glowing white lances struck down from the sky, blasting Magnius away and against a machine, instantly killing him.

Lloyd fell to his knees and then onto his stomach. His breath had left him during the fall. Gasping for air and trying to get to his knees, he fell down again.

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted as the group ran over to him, "are you okay?!" Genis gave him a very worried look.

"Y...yeah....just a bit tired..." He gasped out and gave Genis a weak thumbs up. He felt himself being lifted up into somebody's arms. The feeling felt comforting and familiar. He closed his eyes and was quickly asleep.

"Will he be okay?" Raine asked.

"Yes, he'll be fine."

**Flashback**

_Lloyd ran around the camp, laughing happily. _

_"Lloyd, come here." Lloyd looked around to see Kratos' beckoning him with his hands. He ran over to his dad, arms outstretched and laughing all the while._

_"What is it daddy?" Kratos scooped him up into his arms._

_"It's time to go to bed." He began rocking him to sleep, singing a lullaby softly._

_"Goodnight daddy." _

**Reality**

"Dad!" Lloyd shouted and sat up lightning fast. He was laying on a sleeping back near a fire. The others were asleep, he noted as he looked around the camp. He saw Kratos taking his usual spot by Noishe. He had a startled look on his face and he was staring at Lloyd. After a minute of silence, the look disappeared.

**_"_**Are you alright Lloyd?" Kratos asked, shifting so he was facing Lloyd.

"Um...yeah...just a dream I guess." Lloyd sighed. When would he get the courage to ask Kratos about the memories. Why was he in them? Why did he "keep having them..." It took him a moment to realize that he had said the last part out loud.

"Keep having what?" Kratos asked, raising an eyebrow at Lloyd.

"It's nothing. Just some weird dreams."

* * *

_**Me: **Yup. There you have it. Sorry its so short. I just...kinda wanted to get it up so you'd have something to hold you over until the weekend. Which is when I PLAN on updating again. But you know me, horrible with updating. Its understandable if you want to stop reading.  
**Lloyd:** I'm bbbbaaaaaaccccckkkkk!!!  
**???:** Really now? No one cares.  
**Lloyd:** Oh, hey Riku. Why are you not in Kingdom Hearts anymore? Get bored?  
**Riku?:** Ah shit! How did you know who I was?  
**Me: **Yeah, how did you?  
**Lloyd:** Oh. The voice was a total give-away.  
**Me:** Then how come I didn't notice?  
**Lloyd: **Because you made yourself not notice. XD  
**Me:** Okay....Riku, you should probably get back to Kingdom Hearts. Sora's probably lonely.  
**Sora:** Actually I'm right here!  
**Me: **Okay then....Review and you get a SoraxRiku cookie?? XD  
**Riku and Sora:** Wordcount was.......1,712! Seriously, you can do a hell of a lot better than that.  
**Me:** I know......I'm gonna go to my emo corner while I start on the next chapter....T_T_


	11. The Interrogation

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**Ch. 11: The Interrogation**

**Silver:** I KNOW I said I'd update over the weekend...but during the time period in which I haven't updated, my computer almost had to get resseted, and it got a very BIG virus in it that wouldn't let us do anything on it at all. So I've had a pretty busy break from the comp. Sorryz! But I'm back now and I plan on TRYING to get my updating back in line. But....you know how it goes. -cough-lazy-cough- I also want to warn you that **some of the info in this chapter may be off. **I didn't feel like looking up a walkthrough so I just decided to wing it. I hope its not too bad.  
**Riku:** Hey!  
**Me:** You're still here?  
**Sora:** Yup! So...want us to disclaim you?  
**Me:** Of course you silly little yaoi couple!  
**Sora and Riku:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco!  
**Me:** Onto the story!

* * *

Lloyd awoke the next morning to find everyone already up and bustling about. He saw Genis stick his tounge out at him and grinned, everyone seemed to be back to normal. Secretly, however, they were all very tense. It was the day they were going to interrogate Dorr.

They finished packing up and headed off in the direction of Palmacosta.

"So Lloyd, why'd ya sleep in?" Genis asked, jabbing Lloyd in the side teasingly, "Were you dreaming about Colette?" Lloyd shoved him in a playful manner and they both started laughing.

"Nah, I just was having a really interesting dream, I guess didn't want to wake up." Lloyd's smile faded as he remembered his dream.

_"You murderer!"_

He shuddered and focused on walking. There was something about the air, as they walked the atmosphere seemed to tense and then relax, like someone's muscles. Lloyd had a sudden revalation of what it was.

"Colette look out!" He shouted as he pushed the chosen out of the way only to be hit with a lightning bolt.

"Lloyd!" Colette shouted and ran to his aid,

"Chosen, do not worry about him. He is fine. Worry about the enemies instead." Kratos said and charged at the nearest enemy. There were quite a few of them in this group of bandits and spellcasters.

Once Lloyd recovered from the shock of the random attack, he stood, brought his wings out and dashed towards the nearest foe. He swung his right sword in an arc before jumping back and watching as blood spurted from the bandit's wound. He felt an odd feeling after watching this, he didn't know what it was but he believed it to be disgust. But it never bothered him before...."maybe I'm just thinking on it too much." He murmured.

"Lloyd, pay attention!" Kratos shouted from across the battlefield.

Lloyd nodded to himself and ran at a spellcaster, swords lashing out as extensions of his arms. He grinned and flew high in the air before shooting back down and running the spellcaster through with the weapons. It neatly cut the woman in half. He jumped back as a fireball was shot his way. He followed the path of it with his eyes to see Kratos quickly dispatch the person who had fired it.

Finally, after a while, the last enemy was gone. Lloyd sighed and began to rub an apple gel on his shoulder where he was struck with the lightening bolt. He heard a grunt and looked up to see Kratos standing in front of him.

"Would you like me to heal that for you?" The mercenary asked, extending his palm which glowed with green healing energy.

"Uh, sure. Thanks." Lloyd said and turned so that his shoulder was facing Kratos. He felt the cool mana run over his skin and close the wound painlessly. The familiarness of the feeling made him shudder, remembering when he and his mom had been attacked by some wolves without Kratos' around.

_"Lloyd, don't!" Anna shouted as her son ran at a wolf with a stick._

_"But I have to pwotect mommy!" _

Lloyd chuckled, remembering be scolded by Kratos when he came back. He sighed and tried to keep his mind off old memories of when his mom was still alive. Before...before then.

"Lloyd, you okay?" Genis asked, worridly looking Lloyd in the eyes.

"Um...yeah...I was just lost in thought..." He mumbled before walking on ahead. He could finally see Palmacosta on the horizon.

"Do you see what I see?" Genis asked.

"Yes. Palmacosta. Let's head to the inn and then we can go...visit Dorr." Raine suggested. The group agreed and quickened their pace towards Palmacosta, for night was quickly approaching.

"Lloyd?" Genis asked later on that night.

"What?"

"Are you worried about what were going to find out tomorrow?"

"Not really. I mean, we know Dorr set up a trap for us at the ranch, so...what's there to worry about?" Lloyd glanced at Genis who was in the bed next to him.

"But...yeah...I guess you're right. G'night Lloyd." Genis turned on his side and closed his eyes, already asleep.

"'Night Genis..." Lloyd murmured and closed his eyes, imagining that his mom was there, singing him to sleep and cradling his head in her arms.

The next morning, Lloyd was the first one awake. He usually was, besides Kratos. He hadn't been sleeping much lately, he felt as if he was losing the need to. But he still liked to do it anyways because he usually dreamnt of his mother, seeing every detail of her face that was reflected in his own.

"Good morning, Lloyd." Kratos greeted him as he walked down the inn stairs and into the lobby. Kratos handed him a plate of eggs that he had probably made using the nearby stove.

"Hey Kratos." Lloyd replied and began to chew some of the eggs.

"So how did you sleep?" Kratos inclined, tilting his head a bit as if to study Lloyd's reaction to the eggs. Lloyd however, made no comment until he had finished swallowing the food he had in his mouth.

"It was okay. I don't sleep much nowadays. But it doesn't bother me much. I mean, I still can but I could probably go at least a week without any sleep at all." Kratos nodded in response to this and told Lloyd that he was going to go wake the Chosen and the others up so they could eat and get going.

Once the group was all together and prepared to go, they set off towards the Governor General's office.

They arrived to find the place compeletely deserted.

"I hear voices from below." Lloyd stated, his angelic hearing picking up a conversation between two males. Colette gave him a look of disbelief before composing herself once again.

"Yeah, I hear it too." She mumbled.

They decided to head down the nearby stairs and into the basement. They walked in on a very unusual, yet expected, conversation. Dorr was pleading with a Desian to give him more time to get money. The Desian was not giving in.

"Please! There's no where left to squeeze more money from! Just give me some more time and I can get more for you in a while." Dorr was almost in hysterics at this point. He was sweating and his pupils were dialated.

"Fine. I guess this will work for now." The desian took a box from Dorr before walking through a nearby doorway and lightly shutting the door behind him.

"Daddy? When will mommy be back?" Kilia, his daughter, asked from behind him.

"Soon, Kilia, soon. I promise."

"So this is what you've been up to." Lloyd said from near the stairs.

"What?" Dorr turned to see Lloyd and the others giving him looks of disappointment, "when did you get in here? Neal! Where's Neal?" He glanced around frantically, trying to find his old companion.

"I'm right here Governor General. Why? Why are you doing this?" Neal asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

"You want to know why? Well just look at this! Look at my wife, Clara!" He turned around and pulled down a sheet that was covering a cell. Inside was something Lloyd never wanted to see again. It brought back the memories of Marble, and his mom. He felt tears come to his eyes as he remembered what happened on that cold night when he was three.

"A monster?" Neal shouted, shock written all over his face.

"She's crying out, crying out in pain. You musn't call her a monster." Colette said to Neal who was still staring at "Clara".

"So this is why you've been taking money from the city. The desians probably told you that they could fix her if you gave them enough money to fund it. And you believed them, desperate to get your wife back." Raine stated, and Dorr glared at her.

"What do you know? My wife was taken from me, just like my daughter! You don't know what that's like!" Dorr was hysterical now, eyes spilling over and face completely red.

"Who in the world would call an inferior human like you my father?" Said a small, child-like voice from behind Dorr. Then, all of a sudden, a huge purple claw was shoved through Dorr's stomach, and he fell to the ground coughing up blood and a confused look plastered to his face. The rest of the people in the room gasped.

"Kilia, why?" Colette said, eyes wide.

"Because, inferior human, I am not some stupid child. I am a servent of the Grand Cardinal Pronyma. I was sent here to watch over the city, so I disguised myself as a filthy human," "Kilia" began to transform and morph into something new, after a while, she turned into a weird looking purple thing, "Now you die!" She then proceeded to charge at Lloyd, who was still lost in thought, and run him through with her claw-like appendages.

"LLOYD!" Genis, Colette and Kratos shouted as he fell to the ground.

Kratos was angry. No, beyond that, he was pissed. That stupid half-elf just stabbed his freaking son. He yanked his sword from the sheath and demon fanged the half-elf thing. She cried out and turned to him, eyes glaring angrily.

"You dare injure me? YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

Then the battle began.

Lloyd coughed and sputtered, making futile attempts to stand up and help in the fight. His vision was becoming blurry and he was very aware of the growing pool of blood beneath him that was soaking his clothes and even the side of his face that was planted to the floor. Out of his blurry vision, he saw Kratos stab the purple monster and it fell to the ground, almost next to him. Before its eyes closed, it glared at Lloyd and mouthed something.

_Lloyd Aurion, you will perish._

Lloyd's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he tried to scream something but instead coughed up another large amount of blood. Kratos and Raine ran over to him and began casting healing spells, trying there best not to move him so he wouldn't loose anymore blood. He felt Kratos' gaze on him, something about it told him that he had to live, but his gaze was completely hazy now. Eventually his eyes closed and he was lost in the twirling abyss of darkness once again.

* * *

_**Me: **Okay, this one was pretty fun to write. I think I actually did a pretty fair job. But I don't know, that's why I need your opinions, right Sora and Riku? That's why you should review and tell about what you think.  
**Sora and Riku: **You should review.  
**Me: **One thing before I go, I'm not in this for the reviews, I just love to write, even if I am horrible with updating. I do appreciate the reviews though, constructive critsm helps me to find out what I'm doing wrong and how I can fix it. So, if you have the time, review. But thanks for reading anyways. :D_


	12. The Temple of Water part 1

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**Ch. 12: Temple of Water pt. 1**

_**Silver: **Erm, hello everyone...I'm disappointed with myself. I was all pumped for this chapter and started typing it right after I posted the last one, but then I forgot about it...I'm sorry. But uh...here I am now so...yeah...  
__**Lloyd:** So...shall I disclaim you?_  
_**Me:** Of course you can little Lloydie!_  
_**Lloyd:** Silver doesn't own ToS or Namco._  
_**Me:** Onto le story! And I must warn you this will not be written very well. I really didn't have much energy to do this. I may revise it later but...for now here it is. _

* * *

Lloyd awoke to the sound of whispers all around him.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?" One voice, a childs, said.

"He should. His wound wasn't really that bad. It was just the amount of blood loss that left him like this." An older, female, voice said with a tone that sounded like she really knew what she was talking about.

"I hope he does." A younger female voice said with a hint of worry.

"As do I, we need to get moving." A familiar voice said.

"D-dad...?" He barely whispered out. But Kratos heard it, and as he did he lightly gasped. Lloyd slowly opened his eyes, the light hurting them because they had ben closed for so long. He saw Kratos first and realized what he'd just said, "Ah, um...I thought I heard Dad's voice...I guess I was hearing things..." He fake chuckled and Genis gave him a disbelieving look.

"Of course. You were just waking up after all." Kratos said and silently thanked that Lloyd was so...Lloyd.

"How are you feeling?" Raine asked.

"Um...pretty good actually." Lloyd replied and sat up, not even feeling his wound stretch with the effort. He glanced around and surveyed his surroundings. They were in Palmacosta, in the inn on the main street. He heard someone downstairs shouting about how there was some creeper peeking through her window.

"Shall we get going?" Kratos asked, standing up from the chair he was sitting on and straightening his clothes.

"Yeah." Lloyd agreed and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He grabbed his red jacket that was hanging off the headboard and stood up fully, slipping it onto his shoulders.

They left the inn and headed out of the town.

"So where are we going?" Genis asked, crossing his hands behind his head.

"We are headed to the Thoda Gyser. We're going to retrieve the Spritua Statue." Kratos stated and huffed. This journey was taking extrememly long.

"Why are we going there? Isn't the Spiritua Statue at the House of Salvation?" Lloyd said and turned to Kratos with a puzzled look on his face. The mercenary gave him a look before resisting the urge to face palm.

"You mean no one told you?" When he recieved a shake of the head from Lloyd, Kratos continued, "Well then, while you were passed out at the inn, Raine and I decided to go the House of Salvation to retrieve the statue. Upon arrival we were told that one of the priests dropped it in the geyser while on a journey. So we decided that we could freeze the geyser and I could go get it."

"Well, okay. But why not me? I mean, I have wings and all so maybe it won't take as long." Lloyd suggested and put his hands in his pockets, his wings flapped behind him as if confirming his point.

"I guess that would work. But be careful Lloyd, you have a habit of losing your cool."

Afterwards the rest of their travel to Thoda Geyser was silent. When they arrived at Thoda Dock, they noticed that there was a nearby sign that said that they had to go and pay for their boat. Being the nice person that she was, Colette immediately ran into the small office and handed the woman behind the counter the 100 gald they had to pay.

"Thank you very much." The woman said with a smile.

Lloyd sighed and exited the building, turning towards the dock to find out that the "boats" they were going to be crossing the ocean in, were in fact, not boats. They were washtubs.

"It's a...washtub?" He murmured and heard a gasp from behind him. He turned to see Raine with a scared look on her face.

"Come on, Raine! It'll be fun!" Genis grabbed her arm and started walking towards a washtub when Raine yelped. Everyone, including Kratos, turned to Raine and stared for a period of time that made her very uncomfortable.

"Er...I was just beginning to say 'Ah! This will be fun!'" She grinned nervously and stepped into a washtub with a blue stripe on it. Genis soon joined her. Kratos and Colette got into one with a yellow stripe while Lloyd hopped into one with a, and you guessed it, red stripe.

Once they arrived they saw the statue sitting on a ledge near the other end of the geyser. Genis was about to cast icicle when he realized something, "Wait, won't this draw too much attention to us?"

"Well we're already going to have attention drawn to us when someone freezes the geyser over, so what's a few more stares going to harm?" Lloyd replied and pulled out his wings which he had put away before getting into the washtubs.

Genis agreed to this and so did everyone else. He began to cast the spell and when it was finished, Lloyd jumped over the edge and soared so fast that he was a blurr to the human eye.

Grabbing the statue, he turned around and flew back towards everyone was standing. As he was flying upwards to reach the cliff on which the group was standing, he felt a deep rumble beneath him and looked down to see the geyser shooting up below him. He felt the warmth of the heat on his leg and he felt it even burn his leg a little. But he ignored the pain as he landed in front of the group and held up the statue with a grin of triumph.

"Good job Lloyd! You're so brave!" Colette smiled with him.

"Now we can go look at the Book of Regeneration!" Genis jumped in the air and pumped his fist. Raine had a glimmer in her eye that said that she was almost in rune mode. Kratos, however, was staring at Lloyd's leg, which was burnt through the pant leg. The skin underneath was a dark red that looked painful. He decided that he would heal it as they made there way to Hanakonesia Peak.

Lloyd grinned and the group turned and left the geyser, not noticing the oracle stone hidden behind a sign that they were standing directly next to.

As they walked, Lloyd tried not to limp as pain ran through is leg. Suddenly, Kratos was next to him and gripping his hand. Lloyd stared at him and was suddenly sent back into a memory of Kratos giving him the same look as a child when Lloyd had ran away from the camp they had set up. He felt that right now, he was back to being a three-year-old, and his dad was angry with him.

"Let me see your leg." Kratos said as they continued to walk behind the group.

"There's nothing wrong with my leg. Now come on, we're falling behind." Lloyd laughed nervously and walked ahead a bit, wincing slightly as pain raced through his wound. He had already had Kratos working hard to heal his other wounds, so he shouldn't have to bother him with this one too. Besides, it didn't hurt too bad.

"You burned it, now let me see it." Kratos gripped his hand tighter.

"It's fine. I'll just put an apple gel or something on it." Lloyd said and pulled away. He walked up next to Genis and began talking and laughing with him.

"Stubborn...just like Anna..." Kratos murmured before walking up to cover the back area of the party.

* * *

_**Me:** So okay, I know it sucked, but I'll try and make the next chapter better. Truth is, I'm running out of inspiration for this story. But I'll try and continue it, for readers sake. But I'm thinking about doing a time skip to where they're doing the last seal before the Tower of Salvation. But that's just me. Please tell me what you think on the idea in your reviews! It would be a big help! :D  
**Lloyd:** Sooooo...what now?  
**Me:** You tell them the wordcount and to review! Dur!  
**Lloyd:** Okay...wordcount was...(and its probably short)...1,607! You still suck really bad!  
**Me:** Review to tell me your thoughts on the timeskip idea! PLEASE! _


	13. The Temple of Water pt 2

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**Ch. 13: The Temple of Water pt. 2**

_**SilverMoon: **Once again, I'm hating myself for how late this chapter is. And you probably hate me too. It's understandable. But, eh, here's the chapter anyways._  
_**Lloyd: **I'm so disappointed in you._  
_**Me:** I know, I am too. Will you at least disclaim me?_  
_**Lloyd:** I guess. SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco._  
_**Me:** Onto the story._

* * *

"Gah! How long is this freaking place? I mean, we've had to switch the sorceror's ring like, sixty times already!" Lloyd shouted in annoyance, flinging his arms in the air for emphasis.

"Lloyd, calm down. We're almost there, do you see the warp pad ahead?" Raine glared at him. How dare he rush her like this when she could be devoting more of her time to studying the ruins here. Scoffing, she continued on ahead, trying to ignore the urge to stop and study the statue next to her.

"Ah, I see it!" Genis said exicitedly, "I wonder what monster we're going to have to fight here..." He mumbled, putting his hand on his chin.

"Well, whatever it is, we'll beat it for sure!" Lloyd grinned enthusiastically. He was finally starting to perk up, this place was kind of boring, but the thought of seeing Colette get another angel power was exciting him all over again.

"Yeah!" Colette joined in, a big smile on her face.

"Would you three please refrain from shouting?" Kratos asked with an annoyed look on his face, "You're attracting monsters."

True enough, a group of monsters were starting to gather around them.

"Ah, crap!" Lloyd shouted, pulling out his swords and thrusting on into a nearby monster that was going for Colette. She smiled at him before beginning to cast Angel Feathers. He pulled out his wings as well, and jumped into the air to examine the field. Kratos was holding up well against two monsters while Genis and Raine were hiding behind him to cast their spells. Diving downward, he flew at a small starfish, slashing it in half with his right sword.

Kratos looked up at his son, his wings were now a deep purple, with dashes of indigo hidden here or there. He sighed as he watched Lloyd dive downwards, his son could be so reckless sometimes.

After the battle was done, Lloyd returned his wings and walked over to Colette, to see if she was okay. He was worried that she might've gotten injured during the battle.

"I'm fine, Lloyd, " Colette giggled, "really."

"What you should be worried about, Lloyd, is yourself. You're injured on your arm." Raine pointed out as she, Kratos and Genis walked over to the angels.

"Wha? Really?" He glanced down at his arm and realized that blood was seeping from a long cut on it, "That's strange, I guess I wasn't paying attention." He chuckled nervously.

"You should really pay attention to yourself." Raine sighed and cast First Aid on Lloyd, the green mana healing up the wound, leaving behind only a scar.

"Yeah, sorry..." Lloyd murumured, still wondering why he didn't feel it. In fact, he hadn't been able to feel anything ever since the first seal. It was weird.

"Let's get going." Kratos said, and they began to walk again, towards the warp panel.

When they finally got there, they took the warp. Lloyd grinned, feeling the usual tickle of the warp as he slowly faded into existence in a room that was completely different from the one they were just in. It was almost completely hidden by mist, but he could barely make out the outline of the alter ahead of them.

"The alter's just up there, " Lloyd stated, "Come on, Colette!" He grinned and grabbed Colette's hand, running up to the alter. When they got there, Lloyd immediately felt the mana swirling around them, gathering and moving towards the alter, where a blue cloud of mist was beginning to form.

"Watch out! Here it comes!" Genis shouted as Lloyd and Colette backed away from the alter. It turned out the enemies they were facing were three mermaids, two of them were very small compared to the first one that appeared.

"Really? That's all?" Lloyd grimaced, they really had run out of things to send at them, hadn't they? Glaring, he charged at the biggest one, unleashing a tempest beast on it's face. It barely left a scratch.

"You shouldn't underestimate your enemies, Lloyden." Kratos told him before jumping back to cast a thunder blade on the mermaid, "I've discovered your weakness. Genis," Kratos called to the small mage, "Use lightning techniques!"

"Got it!" Genis yelled back and began casting thunder blade.

Lloyd gritted his teeth and began to cast Angel Feathers, he wanted this thing, this mermaid that seemed to be mocking him, to die, "ANGEL FEATHERS!" He shouted angrily, purplish indigo feathers turning into sharp blades as they grooved into the monster's skin, "Ha! Take that!" He shouted in triumph.

"Lloyd, focus!" Kratos reprimended him with a glare.

Lloyd chuckled with a nervous look, "Eh, sorry!"

After what seemed like three hours, the enemies were finally dead. Lloyd let out a sigh of relief, watching Colette as she stepped up onto the alter and began to pray.

He ignored the conversation between Colette and that haughty blonde angel that said he was Colette's father. However, he managed to catch part of it.

"...your next seal...east..." He ignored the rest, trying to block out that angel's voice.

"Lloyd...LLOYD!" He realized that Genis was calling him.

"What? Is it gone?" When he looked up, he realized that the angel was, indeed, gone. Grinning a bit, he turned back to the warp panel, following the rest of the group as they exited the seal room.

Exiting the dungeon was a lot easier than entering. It only took about ten minutes to find the exit and actually leave.

"So, feel any different, Colette?" Just as Lloyd asked that, Colette fell to the ground, "Colette!"

"It's the disease again." Raine said, helping Colette to her feet, "We should make camp. And I've decided to call this disease, the Angel Toxicosis."

"You mean this has happened before?" Lloyd asked, a confused look on his face.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You were passed out when this happened last." Genis stated, "To answer your question, yes, it has. But it's nothing to worry about, Colette was fine after a good nights sleep."

"Ah, okay." Lloyd said. He began to feel a little sick to his stomach. Grabbing it, he hoped no one else noticed his discomfort. When the stomach pain got so bad that he thought he was going to pass out, he sat down and started to breath deeply, hoping for the pains to go away.

"Lloyd, we need your help to set up camp." Raine said with her back to him; she was setting up a bed for Colette, who stood beside her saying that she could help.

"Yes, Professor." Lloyd grimaced and stood.

After they had camp completely set up and had eaten dinner, Lloyd realized something, he didn't feel like sleeping. In fact, he realized that he probably even couldn't sleep. Frowning, he laid down on his sleeping bag and closed his eyes, making an attempt to sleep.

"Lloyd," Kratos said from where he was sitting, which was very close to where Lloyd was sleeping, "You should be asleep."

"Erm...yeah...but you're still awake, and so is Colette." He said defensively, not wanting Kratos to find out about his condition.

"I see your point. Just try and get some rest, alright?"

"Yeah..." Lloyd resisted the urge to add 'dad' to the end of that sentence and rolled over, trying to get comfortable so he could sleep.

_'What's happening to me? I can't feel anymore, and I can't sleep. It's like my body is changing itself into something else...well...I AM becoming an angel...maybe that has something to do with it. I'll have to ask Colette in the morning...' _He thought to himself as he continued trying to sleep.

"Sleep well, Lloyd."

* * *

_**Me:** Okay, kind of very short, I know. I really should be trying harder, but I'll do better on the next chapter. I just really wanted to get this up so you -readers- won't kill me for not updating.  
**Lloyd: **I would have already killed you if I were them.  
**Me: **Yeah...I know...  
**Lloyd:** So, should I tell them how hidiously small the wordcount is?  
**Me: **Might as well get it over with...  
**Lloyd:** It was 1,633. You suck.  
**Me:** Review, PLEASE! I NEED YOUR OPINIONS!_


	14. Forest of Secrets

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________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Ch. 14: Forest of Secrets**

**SilverMoon:** Okay, I'm glad I'm finally getting back on track with this thing. I'm actually kind of excited.  
**Lloyd:** That's good. I'm glad too.  
**Me:** Yup. And um, I want to take this moment to thank freakyanimegal. Without your review, I don't think this would've been up this early. I was literally jumping up and down when I read it. Thanks so much!  
**Lloyd:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me: **Nope, sadly. Onto the story!

* * *

"Good morning, Lloyd." Genis greeted as the red clad swordsman walked up to the campfire, hair a mess. He grinned at his friend, gesturing towards his hair.

"What...?" Lloyd put his hand on top of his head and felt how messy his hair was. He messed around with it for a moment before taking his hands away to reveal his usual hairstyle, "How's that? Better?"

"Yup. Though I still don't understand how you manage to keep your hair almost perfect," Genis chuckled and then looked behind Lloyd and waved, "Good morning, Colette!"

"Good morning Genis, and you too Lloyd." Colette smiled cheerfully.

"You three seemed to have slept well last night." Raine commented from behind Lloyd.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lloyd put his hands on his hips and stared at his teacher. Being the thick-skulled person he is, he didn't quite understand what she had meant.

"I was meerly stating that you three look well rested," Raine replied and then looked towards Genis, "Have you prepared breakfast yet? If not, can I help?" She had an excited glint in her eyes. Genis examined her warily.

"Um...I was just about to do that...and I think I can handle it alone." He stood and walked over to his sack, pulling out a pan and some eggs that they had collected over time.

"Good morning everyone." Kratos greeted as he walked up towards where the group was gathered, "I trust you all slept well? We have to make it back to Hakonesia Peak before dark today." That was the plan anyways.

The group responded by nodding. Lloyd pulled Colette off to the side, wanting to talk to her about something, "Hey, Colette? Can I ask you something?"

"Um, sure! What is it, Lloyd?" Colette smiled, a bit uncomfortable because of Lloyd's serious expression.

"Have you been...feeling different lately?" Lloyd questioned cautiously.

"What...what do you mean?" She chuckled nervously.

"Eh...nevermind. It's really not important." He turned and walked back to the campfire, not wanting to push too far so that she would be scared to talk to him.

After a while, breakfast was done, and they all dug in. When that was taken care of, Kratos stood and brushed himself off, handing his plate to Genis, "Shall we move on?"

"Yes, we should get going." Raine agreed and stood as well, followed by Colette, Lloyd and Genis. Hefting a pack onto her shoulder, Raine walked ahead next to Kratos.

"You seem to want to talk. What about?" Kratos asked, staring straight ahead.

"Lloyd's changed. Don't tell me you haven't noticed, you watch that boy like a hawk," She narrowed her eyes, "He's becoming closed in, and I'm worried about what will happen. He is my student after all. He doesn't seem to want to talk about whatever has been troubling him since he rejoined us." Stopping suddenly, she turned to face Kratos, "What are you to Lloyd? He stares at you like your his own father or something."

Kratos' eyes widened a bit, this half-elf was smart. Smarter than he'd guessed, "I don't know what you're talking about. So maybe he looks up to me, that doesn't mean I have anything to do with his problem." Clenching his teeth, he tried not to shout. _'Damn'_ he thought, _'I think I might've reacted a bit too much to that'_. Hoping that the teacher wouldn't notice, he began to walk again.

"Hey Professor, why'd you stop?" The center of their conversation said as he walked up to Raine, followed by a worried looking Genis.

"Are you alright, Raine? Do we need to rest for a bit?" Genis laid his hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you." Staring at Lloyd for a second, Raine began to walk again, trying to brush off the feeling that there was some history between Kratos and Lloyd that she didn't know about. She wouldn't push the mercenary, he obviously was sensitive to the subject.

"That was weird. I wonder what was wrong." Lloyd muttered before trailing behind Raine. Something had obviously gone down between her and Kratos that had upset her. Wondering what, he sped up the pace a bit, not wanting to fall behind.

They were at the House of Salvation that marked the halfway point to Hakonesia Peak. Lloyd sighed and sat down on the bed, they were eating lunch and resting up. Chewing on a piece of bread, he heard footsteps approaching him and saw Raine eying him with a confused stare.

"Hey, Professor. What's up?" He grinned sheepishly, hoping that it was nothing too serious, like Colette tripping down the stairs.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" She questioned.

"Hm..." He thought for a moment, what could she be talking about? Did she think that he was troubled by something? "Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

"You looked...troubled. I'm sorry for asking." She then walked off, leaving the room and heading downstairs to go chat with one of the Pastors.

Lloyd was left with an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. Did she suspect something? Did she know? Trying not to think on it too much, he also decided to head downstairs and saw Kratos sitting on the bottom step with his head in his hands.

"Are you okay, Kratos?" Lloyd asked as he sat down next to the mercenary.

"Yes, Lloyd. I'm fine." Kratos replied, lifting his head out of his hands to stare at his son. His earlier conversation with Raine had made him uncomfortable around Lloyd. What if he did know that Kratos was his father? But, then why hadn't he asked him about it yet?

"Alright, you just looked kind of sad for a moment." Lloyd patted his back and then walked out of the house of salvation to get some fresh air. When he exited, he saw Colette leaning down and smiling at a dog. He grinned himself, but walked in the other direction of the chosen.

When he finally stopped thinking, he realized that he was in a forest. A very beautiful one at that. There probably over a million different kinds of flowers spread out before him, each one bearing their own color. Some with colors he'd never even seen before.

"Wow..." He mumbled under his breath and walked further into the forest. Soon, he found himself in a clearing, that was filled with what seemed like a whole field of crimson colored flowers. The scent of cinnamin wafted into his nose, and he smiled, feeling completely at peace.

Looking up at the sky, he realized how much time had gone by. Turning around he made his way out of the forest, not noticing the sound of approaching footsteps behind him. Suddenly, Lloyd felt something hit the back of his head, and everything went black.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Kratos looked around, "Where's Lloyd? Did he wander off somewhere?"

"Yeah, I saw him walk that way. I'm sorry for not watching him!" Colette said apologetically.

"It's alright, I'm sure he'll turn up soon." Raine placed a hand on Colette's shoulder, comforting the young chosen who was worried about her friend.

Kratos glanced around again, trying to see if he could sense Lloyd's mana at all. Realizing that his mana signature was approaching them, he turned in the direction it was coming from and saw the figure of Lloyd walking towards them.

"Where have you been, Lloyd?" Genis questioned, glaring a bit at Lloyd.

"You had us worried. Especially Kratos." Raine remarked, staring at said mercenary.

"Oh, sorry. I was walking and then realized how late it was. I didn't mean to hold you guys up." Lloyd grinned, scratching at the base of his neck lightly. Truth was, he got lost in that forest and couldn't find his way out again. When he finally did, it was much later than he thought it was.

"You should be careful. You could've gotten hurt," Kratos reprimended him and then turned to face one of the paths that would eventually lead them to Hakonesia Peak, "Let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Sorry." Lloyd mumbled and followed after them with an embarassed look on his face, hand still scratching the base of his neck.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

A dark figure watched from the bushes as his prey followed behind his group of friends, "You will soon be mine, Lloyd Irving. Or should I say, Lloyd Aurion?"

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* * *

_**Me:** Do I actually sense a plotline here? YES I DO! I actually have most of the plot written. Now I just have to make it work. .  
**Lloyd:** You'll do it somehow. You usually do.  
**Me:** I guess. I hope this one wasn't too short either. AAAANNNDDD, just to let you know, Lloyd doesn't remember blacking out in the forest. You'll find out why MUCH later into the story. Oh yeah, and sorry about the weird break lines in this one. For some odd reason it wouldn't let me add hyphens.  
**Lloyd:** Want me to tell them the wordcount?  
**Me:** Sure, why the hell not.  
**Lloyd:** Wordcount was...2,006! Not too bad this time around, nice.  
**Me:** Review, please. I REALLY WANT YOUR OPINIONS!_


	15. Asgard

**_Ch. 15: Asgard _**

_SilverMoon: My computer is a huge jerk! T_T _  
_Lloyd: Yup, it is. XD_  
_Me: Why are you so happy? _  
_Lloyd: Because I'm awesome. And you're, obviously, not. _  
_Me: Yeah...but good news is, I'm going on vacation! To Myrtle Beach. So, this is why I'm updating early, so you don't have to wait two weeks for this next one. I know I kind of left it hanging last chappy, and so...yeah...here is the next one! Lloyd, disclaimer! Chop chop!_  
_Lloyd: Alright alright...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco!_  
_Me: Onto the story!_

_

* * *

_

Lloyd huffed, this old man was really pissing him off. Blabbering on about how only the women could look at the book. Genis gave him a stare that said 'quit fussing over it, at least we get to read it'. Lloyd glared at him before turning to Colette, who had just finished reading.

"We know where the next seal is. It's in Asgard." She smiled cheerfully, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"That's good." Lloyd smiled back.

"Let's get going. We must make it there before nightfall. Your little charade back at the House of Salvation put us behind schedule." Kratos glared at Lloyd before turning around and exiting the small house.

Lloyd glared at the shutting door. Kratos could be a jerk sometimes, even if he was his dad, "Oh yeah...I have to ask him about that still..." Lloyd mumbled.

"Ask who about what?" Colette walked up beside him, giving him a worried stare.

"Don't worry about it." Lloyd reassuringly smiled before walking out of the house, followed by Genis and Raine.

Colette stared at their retreating backs, an apprehensive look on her face. What was Lloyd up to? Was he going to get hurt in the process? She shook her head, "No! I have to be happy! I have to keep smiling for everyone." Her voice faded at the end. Shaking her head again, she walked out, joining the others with a big smile on her face.

"Wow!" Lloyd gasped as they entered Asgard, "This city is humongous!" He ran up to a wall, examining some of the weird drawings that were scrawled onto it.

"Seriously Lloyd, you're acting a bit like Raine. It's scaring me." Genis chuckled and recieved a slap from Raine.

"Genis! You should be proud that Lloyd has actually taken an intrest in something useful!" She ran up next to Lloyd and began to point out certain drawings. Lloyd would nod occasionally, eyes wide and excited. Genis sighed and walked over to Colette.

"Isn't that a scary sight?"

"Um...do you think it is?" Colette stared at Lloyd's back, watching the white ties attached flap up and down as he moved. For a minute, she thought she saw something sparkle, but put it off as one of his buttons and turned back to Genis.

"Obviously! To think that Lloyd would actually like things like that...it's scary." Genis shuddered and watched as Kratos walked over to the swordsman and pointed out some drawings about elves.

"I think that he's just excited." Colette smiled, for a moment, it felt like they were on vacation, and not a journey to end her life.

"Oh! And we should go see the alter too!" Raine ran off towards a long staircase, followed by Lloyd and Kratos, who didn't want the teacher to get in trouble if she weren't allowed up there. Colette and Genis quickly followed behind them, not wanting to get lost in such a big city. Not as big as Palmacosta, but a bit harder to navigate around. There weren't many street signs.

When they arrived at the top, Raine was explaining some things about the rune. Colette walked up next to her, listening intently. Genis sighed and stood behind Raine, not really paying attention. Kratos stood off to the side, already knowing the information.

Lloyd was left to wander. Walking around to the back of the alter, he found some people with a strange machine, they were arguing about something.

"We can't do this, Harley! If we do, that spirit will get us and destroy the city!" A blue haired guy shouted at the red haired man that was probably named Harley. Said person glared at the smaller.

"Do you really want Aisha to be killed that badly? She's your sister for Martel's sake! In order to keep her alive, we have to destroy this!" Harley threw his hands in the air, eyes narrowing to slits.

"Did I just hear that someone wanted to destroy this precious ruin?" Raine shouted from the other side, hopping up on the dais before running across and landing on Harley, "You imbeciles! This is a piece of history, and you want to get rid of it?"

"You crazy woman, you don't know whats-" Harley was cut off by a foot to the face.

"Shut up! You don't know what the hell you're doing!" Raine shouted, throwing her arms which were previously crossed behind her, unknowingly flipping the switch in the bomb behind her.

"Um...miss...?" Linar quietly said from next to her.

"You, be quiet as well!" Raine turned on him, and shoved him over.

"Professor! You just flipped the switch on the bomb!" Lloyd shouted. By now, the others had joined them, all with confused looks on their faces.

"What..?" She turned around and noticed that the device was ticking, "You idiots! Look what you did!" She glared at the redhead.

"What are you talking about? This is your fault!" Harley shouted back, earning himself another kick to the stomach, "Crazy bitch." He muttered under his breath so the half-elf wouldn't hear him.

"Don't worry about it, Professor. I can fix this." Lloyd knelt down in front of the machine and pushed a few buttons, opening it up and pulling on a few wires. Eventually, it stopped ticking. The redhead let out a surprised snort.

"You must be something special to stop my machine." Harley put his hands on his hips and smirked.

Raine, however, was still angry, "You idiots! You could've destroyed this ruin!"

There were footsteps coming from behind them and the group turned to see the mayor. He gave them a stern look, "You are not allowed to be in this area. It is off limits." Linar and Harley took this moment to run off, not gaining the mayors attention.

"I am sorry, we did not know. We are from out of town." Kratos stated, bowing slightly. The mayor nodded and told them not to come here again.

After they left, they decided to get a room at the inn on the hill.

"Lloyd, would you like to train?" Kratos approached Lloyd, an almost smile on his face.

"Sure!" Lloyd grinned, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

They walked into the cool night air, the moonlight lighting their way. It was a rather warm night out, and crickets sang a song from the bushes.

"Now, get in your fighting stance." Kratos instructed.

"I know, I got that part." Lloyd smiled, pulling out his swords and spreading his legs.

"Don't get cocky. That could cost you your life in battle. Now, come at me and lets see how good your skills have gotten." Kratos pulled out his own sword and his Lloyd ran at him, slashing his left sword at him before jumping back and bringing down the right one, "Avoid doing that, it leaves your guard open. Right," He grunted, thrusting the hilt of his sword into Lloyd's stomach, knocking him onto the ground, "here."

The night continued on, Lloyd usually being the one knocked on the ground. He'd managed to knock Kratos backwards sometimes, but never knocked him down.

"Ah, it's getting late. We should head back in." Kratos headed for the door, followed by Lloyd.

Lloyd headed upstairs and laid down on the bed in the room he shared with Genis. It had been a long night, and he even though that he got a little better at sword fighting. Sighing, he waited for the rest of the night to pass. The only bad thing about not being able to sleep was the fact that it got REALLY boring when you had nothing to do. Rolling over, he watched the window and closed his eyes, hoping for the time to go over quickly.

Kratos sat on the windowsill, watching as his son turned over to stare out the other one. It was obvious that he had lost his ability to sleep. He turned and stared back out the window, watching as some late night workers headed out of their shops to go home.

Sighing, he mumbled, "This is going to be a long night..."

* * *

_Me: Okay, so probably not as long as I wanted it to be. And I probably was VERY off on the Linar and Harley scene. But I'm doing the best I can because I really don't want to go to the trouble of watching the walkthrough. Hope you enjoyed it anways!  
Lloyd: I think I did. Minus the cliffhanger. It made me sad T_T  
Me: And? Like I care. Just say the wordcount and get it over with.  
Lloyd: Wordcount was...1,679! Wow...that IS short. I'm disappointed.  
Me: Review please! :D_


	16. The Summon Spirit of Wind?

**_Ch. 16: The Summon Spirit of...Wind?_**

**_SilverMoon: _**_Hey guys! I'm back from my trip! It was a rather enjoyable one too. So, here I am, presenting you with this update! Hope you enjoy it. Lloyd, disclaim me please!  
**Lloyd:** Alright...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. Man, that is REALLY getting old.  
**Me:** Okay! Onto the story...hopefully. xD_

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"No! You can't take my place, it...it's not right..." Aisha whispered, looking down at her feet.

"It's the only way. Please, let me do this." Raine crossed her arms, trying not to be too intimidating. This girl, was she really willing to sacrifice herself just for this city? It reminded her somewhat of Colette. Shaking her head, she realized that Aisha had started talking again, "Hmm?"

"I...guess..." Aisha turned to Linar, who gave her a reassuring nod, "We should probably get you read though, it's almost time."

Raine agreed and had Linar and Harley get everyone out of the room.

"The Professor is really brave, isn't she?" Colette smiled, clasping her hands in front of her, "I mean, she could get hurt."

"Yeah, she is." Lloyd mumbled in reply. Something was wrong here, it felt like the mana that was surrounding the altar was...evil somehow. It didn't feel like the mana from the other summon spirits. Sighing, he turned back to the altar, upon which Raine was now standing.

She began to do some odd dance, tapping her staff on certain parts of the altar. Eventually, she knelt down in front of the last place she tapped, waiting for something.

Lloyd realized what was wrong when the...thing, made it's presence known, "Professor watch out! That's not the Summon Spirit of Wind!" He pulled out his swords and rushed up onto the altar next to his teacher, who stepped back and began to cast while he slashed at the thing, hoping to do some damage. Jumping back, he watched Kratos Sonic Thrust it, and saw that the monster now had a rather large hole in it's stomach.

"Focus, Lloyd! Don't let your guard down!" Kratos shouted as he landed beside Lloyd. He'd just barely managed to dodge a swipe of the arm from the monster.

"You should be careful too!" Lloyd yelled over the sound of the monster's screaming. Dashing forward, he swiped at one of it's arms, slicing through it, "Ha! Got 'cha!" He smiled victoriously before jumping backwards to dodge it's...lower half, which was in the shape of an axe.

"I've got it!" Genis' voice rang out form behind Lloyd, "Stalagmite!" A bunch of sharp looking rocks sprouted up from the ground under the enemy they were fighting. It clutched it's stomach, screaming in pain as blood spurted from it's wound.

"Yeah! Alright Genis!" Lloyd shot a grin in Genis' direction, and charged at the beast again, "It's almost dead, guys!" He alerted his teammates and then shouted, "Super Sonic Thrust!" His sword blasted through where the monster's heart should be, and it slowly faded into nothing.

"What an unusual specimen." Raine commented, dusting her clothes off.

"Indeed." Kratos agreed, sheathing his sword again.

"Um...guys...? Everyones staring at us..." Lloyd stared down from the altar, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face. Genis grinned as well, eyes sparkling. Colette just held her hands in front of her, looking over everyone to make sure that no one was injured.

"W-wow..." Linar stuttered out as the group approached them, "That was...impressive..."

"I have to admit, I am impressed. But it's to be expected, I mean, we are of the same blood." Harley smiled, but then saw the look on Genis' face.

"What are you talking about? Raine and me are elves!" Genis' eyes were wide as he hoped that Harley got the message.

A look of realization crossed Harleys face, "Oh! I was wrong, you guys really are elves!" He stared at Genis with a look that said 'you owe me' and chuckled.

"Please, let us grant you our hospitality. You can stay at any inn of your choice for free." The mayor stared at them with a look of gratitude in his eyes.

"Hm..how about that one we stayed in last night? I really liked that one!" Colette added in, a smile on her face. She turned to Raine, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, I need to go examine this tablet that we recieved from the remains of that monster," She turned to Linar, "I assume that we can take a look at this at your house?"

"Of course! We shall go get started now!" Linar excitedly ran off with Raine, who was just as excited.

Lloyd sighed and sat down on his bed. Sometimes, he really wished he could sleep at night. Staying up all day got boring after a while. Standing again, he looked around and made sure everyone was sleeping. He slid on his jacket and boots and walked out of the hotel.

"Ah, a little midnight training never hurt anyone, right?" He chuckled, and then realized that he was talking to himself. Shaking his head, he headed out of the city, going to train in the nearby woods.

As soon as he got to a clearing, he pulled out his wings. He sighed in content, they hadn't been out in so long, it felt nice to have them on his back again. Floating just above the ground, he pulled out his swords and began to slice through the air, going over the basic movements Kratos had taught him.

After about half an hour, he landed on the ground again, sweat covering his body. Taking off his jacket and overshirt, he smiled as he felt the cool night air.

"It's a nice night..." He mumbled, laying down on the grass, watching the stars above him shimmer. Silently, he began naming the stars he knew. The memories of when he and his dad used to go out at night when he was younger floated around in his mind, and he couldn't help but grin.

"Lloyd? What are you doing out in the middle of the forest so late at night?" A familiar deep voice said.

Lloyd sat up and turned to see Kratos standing in the middle of the clearing, arms crossed with a disapproving look on his face, "Nothing, da-" He cut himself short. Did he really almost call Kratos his dad? "Nothing, Kratos. I was just training."

Kratos snorted, taking note that the teen had almost said something else, "It doesn't look like training to me." Uncrossing his arms, he approached Lloyd and sat down next to Lloyd.

"Hey! I was...um...taking a break!" Lloyd laughed, and turned to Kratos, who was looking at the sky.

"Were you looking at the stars?" He asked, watching as a shooting star left a trail in the night sky.

"Yeah...it's something my dad and I used to do when I was really young." He smiled, staring at the sky as well. The breeze ruffled his hair, sending chills down his spine. Remembering his jacket and shirt near by, he grabbed them and slipped them on.

"I didn't know dwarves were interested in the sky."

"No, I didn't mean Dad, I meant my real dad. I remember I used to sit on his shoulders and he'd tell me all about the stars. Like which ones were which." He smiled, remembering how much he loved to do that. Especially before he went to sleep.

Kratos nearly gasped, Lloyd had remembered something...? "I was under the impression that you didn't remember anything from before you lived with the dwarf."

"I didn't before, but lately I've been remember small bits and pieces. Like...a while ago, I thought I saw-" He was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"It's getting late, we should head back. Come." Kratos stood and motioned for Lloyd to follow him out of the forest. Their conversation was getting a little too close to home for Kratos' liking.

"But..." He sighed in defeat as the mercenary continued walking, "Alright..." He noticed how far Kratos had gotten away from him, shivering, he called out, "Wait up!"

Kratos sighed and stopped walking, waiting for the teen to catch up. When he did, Kratos continued onward, occasionally slowing down so the swordsman wouldn't get left behind.

Had Lloyd remembered that Kratos was his dad...? Shaking his head he murmured, "No...that's impossible..." He hadn't noticed that Lloyd was walking right next to him.

"What's impossible?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head a bit.

"Nothing, Lloyd. You should get some rest, we must hurry back." Kratos walked faster, not wanting to continue this line of questioning. What if Lloyd really did know...? Shaking his head again, he kept walking, watching as the sun creeped up on the horizon.

"Alright, fine. I see how it is," Lloyd shrugged and then smiled, "Race you to the city!" He suddenly took off running, and stopped at the city entrance, "What, you're not gonna race me? Are you scared?" He taunted, hoping to get a reaction from the mercenary.

"No. I just refuse to stoop to such a low level." Kratos chuckled, reaching Lloyd and walking past him, "Besides, I believe I have won. You said we were racing to the city, correct? I am currently standing inside the city, while you are not."

"Wha...?" Lloyd noticed that Kratos was right, "You...! That's unfair! I want a rematch!" He glared, jabbing a finger at Kratos and walking into the city.

"We must get back to the inn. Maybe some other time." Kratos turned and walked towards their inn, hearing Lloyd's footsteps behind him.

"Whatever, scardy cat." Lloyd muttered, following behind Kratos.

Kratos' eyebrow twitched at the 'scardy cat' comment. Sighing heavily, and resisting the urge to do something childish, he walked into the inn and up the stairs to their room.

Lloyd followed the mercenary up the stairs. Great, he'd planned on staying out all night and then coming back just before the rest of the group woke up, but Kratos had made them come back earlier. He'd have to pretend to sleep. Sighing, he took off his jacket, leaving on his shirt and undershirt, and laid down on his bed, covering up with the blankets.

"Goodnight, Lloyd." Kratos said from his spot by the window.

"Goodnight...dad..." Lloyd said very quietly, so that Kratos wouldn't hear him, or so he thought.

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_**Me:** Okay, these could stand to be a lot longer, I know. I'm sorry for that. But, I thought I'd do a chapter with a whole Kratos and Lloyd bonding section. I thought it'd be cute, considering the pain Lloyd will have to endure later on...-laughs evilly-  
**Lloyd:** You can be scary at points...-shivers-  
**Me:** Alright! So I want you all to review and be nice and tell me what I can improve on! It would be very beneficial to you and to me. Because, the more reviews I get, the faster I update. Depending on what the reviews say. XD Lolz. Jk, but seriously, I'd like your opinions! They help me write better! :D _


	17. Some Things Never Change

**_Ch. 17: Some Things Never Change_**

_Silver: Hey guys! I've decided to come at this story with all that I've got! Because I really want to get to the Tower scene...Ah...Anyways, so, my updates MAY get a bit bigger, but they also might not because, unfortunately, I start school on Tuesday..T_T_  
_Lloyd: Poor you. I hated school when I had to go!_  
_Me: I know right? So, you want to disclaim me?_  
_Lloyd: Yupyup. SilverMoon don't own ToS or Namco. GOT IT MEMORIZED?_  
_Me: You do not do a good impression of Axel. Geeezz..the voice was completely off._  
_Lloyd: Well, it was my first try! Humph!_  
_Me: Anyways, Onto the story! _

_Warning: Character's may be VERY OOC in this chapter. I hope it's not too bad but...yeah...Enjoy!_

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"Professor!" Lloyd whined, "How much longer until we're there?"

"Just a little longer, Lloyd. Your impatience surprises me, I thought you had matured." Raine sighed, massaging her temples. Lloyd's persistent whining was giving her a headache. Glancing over at Kratos, she saw that he was glaring at the ground, most likely trying not to kill Lloyd.

"Do you need some water, Lloyd?" Colette asked, pulling a cantene from one of the bags hanging from her shoulders.

"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks," Lloyd replied, sighing over dramatically, "Why does this Balacruf place have to be so far away, anyways?"

"Lloyd, if you do not stop whining, I will be forced to glue your mouth shut." Kratos warned, wine red eyes narrowing into a glare.

"S-sorry, Kratos!" Lloyd shouted with wide eyes. He'd nearly said 'dad' but stopped himself before it even stuttered out. Shaking his head furiously, he reminded himself that there was a possibility that Kratos wasn't his father. Lloyd actually had yet to ask the mercenary about the subject. _'And besides, he seems too young to be anyones dad. He only looks like he's in his mid to late twenties.'_

"Pay attention, Lloyd!" He heard Kratos shout and looked up, realizing that they were being attacked by some monsters.

"Sorry!" Lloyd yelled back, pulling out his swords and charging at the nearest foe, an abnormally large ladybug. Slashing out at it and then jumping back, he raised his swords above his head and yelled, "Fierce Demon Fang!" Effectively slicing it in half and splattering blood all over the place.

Once the battle was over, Kratos walked over to Lloyd angrily, "What the hell did you think you were doing? You could've been killed!" Kratos glared down at the teen, resisting the urge to smack him.

"But I wasn't, was I?" Lloyd glared back, pissed. He knew that this was not the time to be fighting, but Kratos had started it, right? "So I don't understand why you're so angry at me!"

"Lloyd! Kratos was just worried about your well being! Apologize to him immediately!" Raine shouted, also resisting the urge to hit Lloyd.

"Oh, what? Now he cares? He didn't seem to care when me and Noishe were plummeting down a cliffside! He didn't even try and find us afterwards!" Lloyd screamed, not even realizing what he had just said. Turning around abruptly, he ran back inot the forest they'd just exited.

Everyone turned to Kratos, eyes wide. Genis was the first to regain his voice, "Wha...what did Lloyd just say?"

Kratos' eyes were wide as well, and he stood there, silent. Colette walked over ot him, worried.

"Mr. Kratos, I don't know what Lloyd meant, but I think that you should go after him." Her blue eyes were still wide, but they no longer contained shock, they were worried.

"Wait," Raine said as Kratos turned to follow Lloyd, "Explain to us your relation to Lloyd. I want to be sure I can trust you." She stepped in front of the mercenary.

"I...I can't...not until I talk to Lloyd," Kratos muttered, "I have to talk to him, please, allow me to go after him. I promise to explain everything afterwards."

"Alright. But if you hurt him, I swear I will-"

"Sis! Let him go already." Genis said.

"Yes...sorry.." Raine moved out of the mercenary's way, letting him run into the forest.

xXxXx

Lloyd stopped when he thought that he'd gotten far enough away from the group. He sank down against the tree trunk, breathing heavily. He knew that what he'd said to Kratos was a low blow, and he hadn't even meant for it to come out. Closing his eyes, he grimaced. For some reason his heart beat would not slow down. Instead, it seemed to increase it's pace.

"Starting to feel the effects now, hm?" A voice said from a shadowed part of the forest.

"Who's there...?" Lloyd said, making an attempt to stand, only to land on his rear again, "And what do you mean 'effects'? What are you talking about?"

"Ah, you'll find out who I am and what I'm talking about later on. Towards the end of your journey," The voice stopped speaking, as if it was listening for something, and then continued on, "Damn," The voice sounded angry now, as if someone had interuppted them, "For now, I must take my leave. Till next time, Lloyd."

Lloyd turned his head at the sound of approaching footsteps. He watched as Kratos emerged from the trees, eyes wide and worried. When they found Lloyd, the worry in them seemed to lessen.

"There you are. I trust you are uninjured?" Relief flooded into Kratos' eyes when Lloyd nodded.

"Listen Kratos, about what I said, I'm sorry." Lloyd stood, slowly at first, and then, realizing that he would not fall over, he stood up fully.

"Do not worry. I probably deserved that. I should've explained it when you told me that you'd remembered. For that, I am sorry," Kratos walked over to Lloyd, examining him to make sure that he was unharmed. Other than the fact that he was pale, Lloyd seemed alright, "Are you feeling well? You're pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um...can I ask you something?" Lloyd recieved a nod from the mercenary and continued, "Are you really-"

"Lloyd!" Genis shouted, approaching the mercenary and the twin-swordsman at a run.

"Oh, hi Genis..." Lloyd mumbled, angry at the half-elf for interupting him. Sighing, he felt his breathing finally even out. It had been very uneven until now. Looking up again, he saw Raine and Colette following behind Genis at a much slower pace.

"Lloyd, are you okay?" Colette said, walking over to her friend.

"Kratos," Raine cut in, "I trust you can explain now?" She crossed her arms, glaring at the mercenary.

"Yes, but I suggest that we get moving. I will explain as we walk." Kratos said, turning and heading towards the exit of the forest.

"Yeah, Colette, I'm fine." Lloyd replied before turning and heading after the retreating back of Kratos.

"I was hired as a mercenary to protect Lloyd and his family while they traveled," Kratos began, forming the lie in his head as he walked, "We were attacked by bandits and Lloyd's family was killed. However, Lloyd and Noishe fell over the side of a cliff during the fight. I tried looking for them, but all that I found were the half-eaten corpses of the bandits that attacked us." He finished, eyes scanning the area for monsters or the white building they were looking for.

"I see..." Raine muttered, not quite believing Kratos' story.

"Oh, so you knew Lloyd when he was little, Kratos?" Colette asked, eyes wide and curious.

"Yes. But not for a long time." Kratos replied, sighing quietly.

"Enough time for Lloyd to get attatched, apparently." Raine said, trying to see if Kratos was lying. She wouldn't ask Lloyd because he probably didn't remember much of his childhood.

"I suppose so." Kratos replied calmly.

Lloyd sighed. Kratos had lied, obviously. Or did he? Most of what he remembered could fit with Kratos' story. But he was sure that at some point he'd called Kratos 'daddy'. So the story Kratos told everyone had to be a lie, right?

"Hey, I think I see the museum!" Genis shouted, grinning and running forward towards the white ruins.

"Genis, be careful! You could trip and fall!" Raine shouted, running after Genis.

"Genis, come back!" Colette shouted, running after the two half-elves.

That left Kratos and Lloyd alone. Lloyd shifted awkwardly, eyes glancing over at Kratos, "You lied, didn't you? You told them a false story."

"Why would I lie, Lloyd? I have no reason to." Kratos silently wished that Lloyd would believe him and walk away. Then again, Kratos had no idea what the teen had remembered. What if he remembered something that gave Kratos away?

"You lied because you don't want them to know. You don't me to know either, do you? Why not? What's there to hide?" Lloyd stopped walking now, and turned, facing Kratos with angry eyes, "Are you ashamed of me? Do you not want me to be your son?"

"Lloyd, no. Never. I would never be ashamed of you." Kratos was inwardly cringing. Lloyd had figured it out. And that would only make things harder later on in their journey.

"So then why don't you want me to know?" Lloyd glared at the mercenary, at his father, "I don't understand!"

"Because...I am ashamed of myself. Because I didn't look harder for you those years ago...please Lloyd, do not tell the others. They are better off not knowing. As were you..." Kratos trailed off at the end.

"But..." Lloyd sighed, "Alright...I won't tell. On one condition!"

"What is that?"

"You have to look at the stars with me again, alright?" Lloyd grinned.

Kratos sighed, shaking his head lightly, "Alright."

Some things never change.

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_Me: Okay, so did y'all like it? I thought that this chapter sucked, personally. But, that's just me. It just didn't come out the way I wanted it to. After hours of editing, I still couldn't get it right. But, oh well.  
Lloyd: I thought it was alright. :D  
Me: Mmhm. Sorry about the weird break line there as well. It wouldn't let the hyphens work. T_T  
Lloyd: So, review, mmkayz?  
Me: Indeed, you should review. It makes my plot bunnies happy. :D_


	18. The Temple of Wind

**_Ch. 18: The Temple of Wind _**

_**Silver**: Okay, here's the chapter. Kind of late, ne? Sorryz. I'm just...not doing so hot. _  
_**Lloyd**: Aw, what's wrong? _  
_**Me**: Nothing, you don't want to hear about it. Disclaim me, mmkayz?_  
_**Lloyd**: Okay...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. _  
_**Me**: Onto le story..._

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"Man...why does it have to be so windy in here?" Lloyd asked, sighing and hunching over just a bit, "I mean, this wind is messing up my hair! Do you know how much combing it takes for me to get it to stay like this?" Shaking his head, he glared as another gust of wind mercilessly attacked his hair.

"Quit your complaining, Lloyd, we're almost to the seal," Genis chuckled and stood on his tiptoes so he could poke at Lloyd's head, "You really should just wear it down or something, Lloyd."

"Since when do you care about my hair, Genis?" Lloyd pushed himself away from Genis and patted his hair to make sure it was still the way he liked it, "Do you really think it looks that bad...?" He asked absentmindedly, pulling at a few strands.

"Lloyd, if you do not shut up about your hair, I will be forced to slice it off." Kratos glared at Lloyd before walking a bit faster and looking around to try and find the location of the seal.

Lloyd sighed, and walked up the stairs slowly. He was sure that if he could feel something right now, it would be the burning in his feet. There were definately going to be some blisters on the bottom of his feet by the time they reached the end of this temple.

"Okay, I think this is the place." Colette said, pulling out the sorcerer's ring and firing a ball of fire at each of the torches near the door they were at. When they lit up, the door began to move. Raine gasped, eyes lighting up like the fire on the torches.

"Fantastic!" She ran to the threshold of the door, examining it with a keen eye.

"Oh god, not again..." Genis mumbled, pushing past his sister and into the room. There were five fans set up in the middle of the room and they were all off, "What the heck does this mean?"

"Hm...maybe it has to do with the wind sorcerer's ring?" Colette suggested, turning and exiting to room to go and change the sorcerer's ring over.

Lloyd followed after her, shouting, "Wait up, Colette! You might run into some monsters!" Right after Lloyd said that, Kratos seemed to realize the possible threat of monsters and chased after the Chosen and his son. Genis, feeling left out, ran after them as well.

Raine looked up, suddenly feeling alone, "Where'd everyone go?"

Colette ran back up the stairs toward Raine, who was now stading, followed by Lloyd, Kratos and then Genis, "Let's try this on the fans."

She walked into the room and used the sorcerer's ring on the fan in the top left corner. Then on the one next to it. They both were spinning now. She continued along, using it on the one below the last one she used it on, and then on the one next to that. Finally, she made her way to the one in the middle, and used the sorcerer's ring on it.

The door in front of her suddenly seemd to move. Jumping with a grin on her face, she turned to the group, "I think the doors open!"

"Sometimes, Colette, you really do surprise me." Genis muttered, shaking his head.

Lloyd felt a sudden wave of nausea hit him, and he stumbled on the stairs they were walking on, up towards the alter. His head began to ache. What was going on?

"Lloyd, are you okay?" Genis whispered next to him, laying a hand on his back to support him.

"I...think so..just kind of dizzy...sorry to worry you." He said back, standing up straight again and trying to fight off the bile rising in the back of his throat. There was so much mana swirling around him. _'Colette must already be up there, meaning the monsters are there too!' _Running up the remaining stairs, he saw that the battle had already started.

"There you two are! We could use your help in here!" Raine shouted while casting First Aid on Colette.

Lloyd immediately jumped into action, rushing in to block an attack that was going to hit Colette. He didn't know why, but only one thought ran through his head as he fought the monsters, 'Protect the Chosen'. And that he did. It wasn't until the monster faded into nothing that he came back to his senses.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" Colette asked, running over to the angel.

"Eh...yeah. How about you?" He took on a serious tone, looking her over, "Are you injured at all, Ch-Colette?" He had to stop himself from saying 'Chosen'. _'What...what the hell is wrong with me? Why did I almost say Chosen?' _Shaking his head, he broke out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Colette replied, smiling.

"Chosen, you must go to the altar." Kratos stated, placing his sword back in it's sheath. Colette nodded and made her way over to the altar to pray.

"Lloyd, it's your turn." Raine said, walking over to Lloyd. She was checking everyone for injuries and had reached Lloyd, "Are you hurt anywhere?" She questioned, glacing around his torso to see if anything was cut up.

"Not that I can tell. Do you see anything?"

"Only a few minor cuts. We can let those heal on their own. Kratos, get over here, it's your turn!" Raine turned away from Lloyd and ran over to the mercenary.

Once Colette was done talking to Remiel, they made their way out of the temple. Lloyd, already suspecting what was going to happen next, was there to catch Colette when she fell, not noticing that he scraped his hand on the ground rather harshly when he caught her.

"Ah...thanks Lloyd..." Colette mumbled, standing back up again on wobbly legs.

"We should set up camp, then." Kratos stated, already placing his pack on the ground.

Later on that night, after camp had been set up and dinner had been served, Colette approached Lloyd, "What is it, Colette?" Lloyd asked, standing up from his seat by Noishe.

"Um...I just wanted to talk to you, is that alright?" She asked.

"Ah, yeah. Sure." Lloyd stood, walking to the edge of the camp and out of earshot of everyone else. When they stopped walking, Lloyd sat down, leaning back on his hands.

"Is your hand okay?" Colette sat next to him, grabbing his arm lightly and staring at it.

"Yeah, it feels fine." Lloyd replied, pulling his arm out of Colette's grasp and staring at it for himself. It wasn't until the cloud that was covering the moon moved that he realized it was covered in blood, "Holy crap! How did that happen?"

Colette pulled out a washcloth and began wiping the blood away from the cut, "So you can't feel anything either?"

"You had it too?" Lloyd gawked at Colette, thoroughly shocked.

"Yeah, can you eat and sleep?"

Lloyd felt a wave of relief wash over him, so he wasn't alone in this, "Nope. Not really anyways. If I try really hard I can force some food down. Sleep is nearly impossible, but if I really try, I can get into a sleep-like state." He took the dirty washcloth from Colette's hand and shoved it in his pocket, muttering, "Thanks."

"Really? That's how it is for me! Still...I don't think we should tell the others. They might worry..." Colette mumbled, looking down at her shoes.

"I agree. I don't want them to worry any more than they have to," Lloyd replied, standing up, "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'm gonna go lay down. The others might be worried."

"Alright. Goodnight Lloyd."

"'Night Colette."

Lloyd went back to the campsite, laying down on his sleeping bag, completely forgetting about his deal with Kratos.

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_**Me**: So...there you have it...  
**Lloyd**: Mmhm...pretty sucky.  
**Me**: Yup...review please._


	19. Disaster at Luin

**_Chapter 19: Disaster at Luin _**

_Silver: Okay...long wait...I know...sorry...  
Lloyd: You okay?  
Me: I just suck...  
Lloyd: Mmhmm...okay then. Want me to disclaim you?  
Me: If you would be so kind...  
Lloyd: Okay...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco. Seriously, you need to smile, it's kind of creeping me out...  
Me: Eh...don't worry about it...  
Lloyd: I wasn't planning on it.  
Me: T_T Onto the story. _

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"So, where are we headed now?" Lloyd turned to Kratos, grinning slightly. Ever since he'd gotten the fact that he knew Kratos was his dad off of his chest, he'd been in a brighter mood. Linking his arms behind his head, he scratched lightly at his neck, feeling as if something was crawling up and down it.

"We are headed to Luin. We haven't been there yet, and we could possibly find some information on the next location of the seal." Kratos informed, something shined in his eyes for a moment, but was quickly covered up with his original stoic mask.

Lloyd turned away from him, pondering what the emotion was. Could it have been guilt? No, why would he be guilty? Shrugging it off, he turned to Genis, "When are we gonna have lunch, I'm hunnnggrry!" He dragged out hungry, smiling his goofy smile.

"Lloyd seems to be in brighter spirits since you explained about his past. Why would that be, hmm? You only told him that you knew him when he was younger." Raine pointed out to Kratos as Genis laughed at Lloyd and Colette giggled in the background.

"Maybe it meant a great deal to him." Kratos stated, calmly crossing his arms.

Raine glared accusingly at the mercenaries back as he walked ahead of her. Shaking her head, she continued to walk, pondering her suspicions of the swordsman.

"You're funny, Lloyd!" Colette laughed, smiling the truest smile she had in a while.

"Wha-...why?" Lloyd gasped out, flustered. Genis walked along beside him, laughing hysterically. The teen glared at the mage playfully, "Hey shut up, Genis!" He began laughing along with his friends, but suddenly stopped when he felt the familiar presence of monsters. In front of him, Kratos had already unsheathed his sword.

"Beware, there are monsters about." The mercenary whispered, not wanting to provoke the monsters. Soon, however, three rather large lady bugs and a giant praying mantis revealed themselves, "Lloyd, go for the mantis, Genis and Raine, go for the two lady bugs closest to you, and Chosen, go for the last lady bug. I will help where necessary." Kratos barked out, the party members immediately beginning their tasks.

Lloyd ran at the mantis, dodging to the right to avoid a large clawed arm coming at his head, and slashed at it's head. He dodged to the left again to avoid another arm and jumped onto it's back, taking both swords and plunging them into the weakspots on it's back. _'That's strange...I seem to be fighting better than usual...maybe I'm just getting stronger or something...'_ He thought to himself as the monster dispersed in a wave of blood colored smoke. Turning, he saw that everyone else was handling the monsters nicely. Glancing at Colette, he saw that she was struggling to block the thing's blows. As it reared back to attack, he sprang into action, taking out his wings and flying towards them, deflecting the blow and shouting, "Psi Tempest!" To finish it off.

"Wow Lloyd! You've gotten stronger!" Colette marveled, blue eyes shining.

Lloyd flapped his wings absentmindedly, _'Why did I know when to move? And why did my wings go out so fast? It's never happened before...maybe I'm just getting used to being an angel now...yeah, that's it.' _Satisfied with his answer, he turned to Colette, "You think so?" He grinned goofily.

"Your reactions do seem to be faster." Kratos added, resisting the urge to smile as Lloyd's eyes lit up at his comment.

"Really? I mean...you really think so D-Kratos?" He stuttered, nearly saying "dad" but managed to avoid doing so. When Kratos nodded, Lloyd grinned so widely that his mouth hurt.

"Um...guys...? Why does Luin look so...empty?" Genis asked as they approached their destination. They were still at a distance, so the party had yet to see the true damage that had been done to the large city.

"Hm..." Raine murmured, placing her hand on her chin, thinking hard. Staring ahead, she began to squint, "Is that...smoke?" She gasped out, seeing a small dark plume of smoke rising from one of the houses.

"It is!" Genis confirmed. The small half-elf broke into a run, followed by Raine who was shouting at him that he could get attacked or trip and fall again.

Lloyd looked over at Colette, who looked like she was about to cry. Glaring furiously, he ran after the two siblings, hearing the footsteps of Kratos and Colette rushing along behind him. He put on another burst of speed, trying to get there faster.

The closer they got the worse the damage seemed to get. Houses were crumbled, others were burning. There seemed to be no one left there. The bridges that led over the water that surrounded the city were nearly falling off and Lloyd cautiously crossed, wincing as a board fell off behind him.

"Who would do something like this...?" He mumbled, shaken by what he was seeing.

"The Desians did this." A vaguely familiar voice said from behind the group. They turned to see the purple clad assasin kneeling behind them.

Almost immediately Kratos unsheathed his sword and stepped in front of Colette, "You will not harm the Chosen." He warned, eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Don't worry...I don't have any strength left to fight..." It was then that Lloyd noticed all the cuts that covered her body. She was covered in dirt and her eyes didn't hold the familiar spark that they did when she came at them for the first time.

"Professor! Please, heal her!" Colette pleaded, staring with worried eyes at Raine.

"I will. First, tell me, what happened here?" Raine asked ignoring the worried look that Colette was giving her.

"Like I said...the Desians..invaded..everythings in ruin. The people of this city had been hiding some people who escaped from the ranch northeast of hear. The Desians found out about it, and took the everyone from the city to the ranch, destroying the city as well." Sheena gasped out, clutching her side.

"So how were you injured?" Colette asked, clasping her hands in front of her and staring at the assasin worridly.

"It's nothing, I was just clumsy." As soon as she said that, the monsterous form of Clara chased a priest into the view of the group. Sheena stood, legs shaking and fended her off, getting wacked with one of Clara's arms in the process.

"Clara, please stop!" Colette flew out in front of Sheena, also getting hit with an arm, though Clara did disappear into ruins of the city.

"Colette, are you okay?" Genis ran over to her, examining her for wounds.

"Y-yes..." The chosen replied shakily.

"Professor, please heal her!" Lloyd turned to Raine, noting the amount of blood Sheena had lost. Even though she was an enemy, if they planned to infiltrate the ranch, like Lloyd hoped they would, Sheena could be a very useful asset.

"Fine, but you're all to softhearted for your own good." She scoffed, pulling out her staff and walking over to Sheena, kneeling down beside her hand healing up her wounds.

"Thank...thank you..." Sheena muttered, standing, "I..have a favor to ask of you. It may be selfish and unreasonable, but please, hear me out."

"What is it?" Lloyd asked, intrigued.

"I owe the people of this city for food and lodging. I owe it to them to rescue them. If you agree, then I'll from a truce with you and help in any way I can." She proposed, standing up straighter now that her wounds were healed.

"Alright." Lloyd nodded, thinking that this was a good idea.

"Lloyd, are you serious?" Raine asked, angered.

"I agree with Lloyd." Colette put in.

"What about you?" Lloyd turned to face his father, pleading with his eyes for him to agree.

"I see no problem with it."

"Ah..I'm sorry Raine!" Genis stuttered out, backing away from his sister. She got scary when she was mad.

Sheena looked at all of them, gratitude shining in her eyes.

"We'd better rest up before we go anywhere. Shall we set up camp here?" She asked, turning to face her new party members. Maybe should could possibly trust them.

"I think that's a good idea." Kratos agreed, and they began to set up camp for the night.

Lloyd walked over to Kratos once they had everything set up for the night, and a nice fire burning, stew brewing over it. Kratos looked up as he approached, and motioned for him to sit down.

"What is it, Lloyd?"

"Hey..um..can we look at the stars later?" Lloyd asked, staring at his feet.

"I don't see why not." Kratos stood as Genis pulled the stew off the fire, calling to tell everyone that dinner was ready, "First, we should go eat, and then we can."

Satisfied with his answer, Lloyd followed Kratos over to the fire, a smile on his face.

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_Me: I think that was pretty good. How about you?  
Yuan: Hello there! And it was okay. When do I come in?  
Me: Oh, hey Yuan, I was expecting Lloyd.  
Yuan: So I'm not good enough? I see how it is! -runs away-  
Me: Um..review..? -chases after Yuan-_


	20. The Asgard Ranch part 1

**_Ch. 20: The Asgard Ranch part 1_**

_**SilverMoon:** Hey guys! Here's is chapter twenty! Wait...did I just say...twenty? Holy crap I'm far into this story. That's insane. O.O _  
_**Lloyd:** That is, I mean, how could someone like YOU ever make it this far? _  
_**Me: **I love you too, Lloyd._  
_**Lloyd:** But I didn't even say that! _  
_**Me: **Mmhm, sure you didn't. So, disclaim me slave!_  
_**Lloyd:** Whatever...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco!_  
_**Me:** Onto the story! Enjoy for whatever it's worth! And by the way, the ranch part (and what happens afterward) is improvised because I couldn't look up the walkthrough. Hope it's not too bad. XD_

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Lloyd dashed behind at tree, just barely avoiding the glance of a Desian patrol. Turning his head, he saw that Colette, Sheena, Kratos, Raine and Genis had made similar moves. As soon as the Desian was far enough away, he whispered to Kratos, who was closest to him, "We should find some way to sneak in, otherwise we'll be caught."

Kratos nodded silently in reply, motioning for Lloyd to come closer to him. Lloyd glanced warely around to see if another patrol was near before dashing to the tree nearest to Kratos. Raine, who was on the other side of the mercenary, looked over at them to see what they were talking about.

"I suggest we attack a patrol and steal their outfits to infiltrate the building." Kratos stated when Lloyd had arrived next to him. He quickly silenced when the sound of footsteps approached and a patrol passed them, then he turned back to Lloyd.

"I think that's a good idea, but you should ask Raine as well." Lloyd replied, staring at said half elf.

"I think that would be wise decision, and the best plan we have at the moment." Raine said when Kratos had turned to look at her. Thus it was decided.

The next patrol wound their way around the trees the group was hiding in, and soon they were met by the silent party attacking and killing them all quickly.

"So," Raine began as they sat in the destroyed town of Luin, "We've managed to salvage a woman's uniform. That means one of us will have to wear it." She gestured to the ladies in the group, all of which who nodded, though Colette looked very unsure.

"If you want, I can do it." Sheena suggested.

"I think that would be best. The uniform seems like it would fit you better." Raine agreed, handing the outifit over to Sheena. The assasin took it and headed off somewhere to go and change.

"Alright! Ready, everyone?" Sheena said as she stepped into the campsite, barely recognizable in the Desian outfit.

The rest of the group nodded and they headed out.

When they got back to the ranch, they were confronted by the Desians guarding the gate. Sheena threw them off by saying that she had captured Lloyd Irving and the Chosen. After congratulating her, the Desian watchmen let them through.

"Wow...I can't believe that worked..." Genis murmured. Raine glared at him and made a shushing motion with her fingers.

After they had finally gotten inside, Lloyd noticed that something was wrong.

"Where is everyone?" He asked, looking around the room they were in. Suddenly from behind, he heard footsteps approaching, "Um...guys...?" He turned around staring at the door. Kratos copied his motion, his hand on his sword.

"Ha! Found you!" A Desian said as he stepped into the room, followed by a man with white hair and narrowed eyes and a couple more Desian soldiers. The soldier in the middle began to cast.

Kratos' eyes widened and he ran in front of Lloyd, casting Guardian as the fire balls flew at them. Lloyd stared at his father, eyes scanning him for signs of wounds. His inspection was interrupted when Sheena shouted from behind him. Turning, he saw her and the rest of the group running through a nearby door. He quickly followed them, Kratos not far behind.

As soon as they exited a feeling of dread appeared in the pit of Lloyd's stomach, similar to the feeling that he got when they had first entered the ranch. He heard Colette gasp and looked at her, he noticed that her eyes were widened in horror. Following her gaze, his eyes widened as well when he saw the sight before him.

Humans were being carried along on what looked like a conveyor belt. The went into a big machine and came out as little rectangular blocks.

"W...what the hell...?" He stuttered out, backing away and not hearing the footsteps approaching from behind them.

"So...now that I have you trapped, will you peacfully hand over the Angelus project or do we have to kill you for it?" The white haired man stepped forward from the crowd of Desians that had silently surrounded them. He had a wicked smile on his face.

"Um...sir? Lord Yggdrasil wants him alive." One of the Desians closest to the man stated in a whisper.

"Ah...yes...I had forgotten."

"I'll never hand this over to you bastards!" Lloyd shouted, hands on his swords and hatred in his eyes, "My mother died to protect this, and I won't let you have it either!"

"Your mother, hmm? Oh yes...that human, Anna was it? It doesn't matter, and besides, we did not kill that human. Your father did." The half-elf motioned to the surrounding Desians, who began to close in on the group.

"Kvar..." Lloyd barely heard Kratos mutter warningly under his breath.

"Liar! My father would never have done such a thing!"

"Lloyd, come on! We've got to get out of here!" Genis grabbed his friends arm, dragging him back. Sheena stepped out in front of them, pulling something out of her pocket.

"I'm gonna use the last one..." With a shake of her head, she threw the slip of paper into the air, making the group disappear.

When Lloyd's vision focused, they were standing in the ruins of Luin. He was shocked to find tears streaming from his eyes. _'When did I...?' _Shaking his head, he wiped his eyes and turned to see if the group was okay. Other than looking a little disoriented, they all seemed to be fine.

Genis growled angrily and removed the exsphere from his hand, raising his arm as if to throw it away.

"Genis, don't!" Colette grabbed his arm, eyes wide.

"But...but...they used _people_ to make these things! How..how could we even keep using them? How many people have died for this?" Genis pulled his arm free of Colette, turning away from her.

"Genis..." Lloyd muttered. He had no right to feel upset when everyone else was just about as bad off as he was. Staring down at the blue exsphere attatched to his hand, he sighed. He couldn't just take it off, without it, he was weak. But...it was made from human life, "I..I need to think..." He muttered and then walked off towards the destroyed inn.

Kratos stared worriedly at Lloyd's retreating back. Perhaps it would be best if he left him alone. Turning he stared at the sky, contemplating on their next best plan of action. He desperately wanted charge in that ranch and run Kvar through, but that would be a stupid move. He needed to stay by the Chosen.

"I think you should follow him." Kratos jumped as a hand touched his arm and turned to see Colette. Her blue eyes were worried and her face was frowning.

"I'll...I'll do that." He muttered and ran after his son.

Lloyd sat on one of the stone steps that had originally led to the front door of the inn, but had nearly crumbled during the attack on Luin. With a sigh, he removed the exsphere from his hand and stared down at it, "What would you want me to do, mom? I can't just...I can't just throw it away..."

"I think your mother would like it if you held on to her momento. In a way, it keeps her alive." The auburn haired mercenary sat next to Lloyd, staring straight ahead as he spoke.

"But how can I...how can I just hold onto it? It was...humans _died _for this!" Lloyd couldn't keep himself from shouting.

"That's exactly the reason you should hold onto it. Wouldn't your mother want you to keep her around with you? It's her memory, and she would be upset if you threw it away." Kratos ruffled Lloyd's hair, trying to calm him down.

"I...I'm sorry Kratos. I didn't mean to yell at you." Lloyd sighed, placing the expshere back on his hand, "But you're right. Mom wouldn't want me to get rid of her, nor do I want to get rid of her." He smiled down at the expsphere and then stared up at the stars, "Hey dad...?"

"What is it Lloyd?"

"That Kvar guy...did...was he telling the truth about you?"

"I-" He was interrupted by someone calling their names. Kratos looked up to see Raine walking towards them.

"We've decided to go to Hima tomorrow."

"Why's that?" Lloyd asked, standing and brushing himself off.

"Because Sheena says that she knows someone there who escaped from the ranch and that we might be able to find a way in with his help." Raine turned and walked back towards where the group were camping for the night.

Lloyd followed after her, silently telling Kratos that he would have to answer later.

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_**Me: **I am sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but there's something wrong with my wrist and I don't know what it is. It's been hurting like hell for a while now, and my dad's gonna take me to the doctors sometime next week. Sorry for the wait. DX  
**Lloyd: **Whatever...pansy...  
**Me: **Shut up! -stab- Anyways, review, okay?_


	21. Hima, the City of Adventures

**_Ch. 21: Hima, the Village of Adventures_**

_**Silver:** Hey guys, I'm back. Yeah...sorry this chapter moves along so slow and sorry its so short...it was kind of hard for me to write, but I'm trying my best! :D And here's Lloydie with our disclaimer!  
**Lloyd:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco!  
**Me:** Okay, onto your story! Once again, haven't looked up the walkthrough, though I have gotten to this part in the game, but still, some info might be off. Enjoy! _

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Lloyd sat up and stretched, scratching his face and moving the covers off of him. Standing, he began to clean up his area of the camp. It wasn't like he actually slept that night, but still, he had to make the group think that he was still normal, otherwise his and Colette's secrets would be blown.

"Good morning Lloyd!" Colette greeted with a cheery smile as she walked over to him.

"Morning Colette." Lloyd grinned, throwing his bag onto Noishe and turning to Sheena and waving. Then, he turned to Genis and asked, "So what's for breakfast?" Though he could no longer eat, he still enjoyed the smell of food on a bright sunny morning.

"Hm...I'm thinking about sandwiches since it's almost lunchtime." The white-haired magician flashed a smile before turning back to his bag of ingrediants that he was currently digging through.

Raine walked over to him, "Can I help?"

"Um..." Genis glanced around and, seeing everyone's expressions, shook his head, "Sorry sis..." He muttered and turned away from his sister. Digging through the bag, he pulled out what he was looking for and grinned, beginning to make the lunch.

After they had all eaten, Lloyd turned to Raine, "So how exactly do we get to Hima?"

"It should be north west of here, on a mountain side." She glanced up from the map to see if he had heard, when she confirmed that he had, she looked down again, examining their course, "There's a bridge north of here that we have to cross to get to where it is, but after that, it should be pretty easy to find." Folding up the parchment, she put it back in her bag and stood.

The rest of the group followed suit, standing and hiking their bags up on their shoulders. Noishe carried some of them, but most of the group preferred to carry their own things.

They headed off in the direction of north, searching for the bridge that Raine had mentioned. Once they found it, it was basically a straight shot to Hima. The only times they had to stop was either to rest, or to fight monsters, so they managed to make it there by nighttime.

"Finally! We're here!" Lloyd grinned, tired of walking. He was pretty sure that his feet had blistered, even though he couldn't feel it. He still grinned though, because he knew that the others were probably just as tired, and could probably feel it too.

"Let's head to the inn for the night and then we'll find Pietro in the morning, how does that sound?" Raine suggested, crossing her arms as she surveyed the small village. Recieving nods from the others, she led the way into the inn, where they paid their fee and got two rooms.

The next morning, as the group exited their rooms and headed down the stairs, Sheena suddenly called out to a woman who was near the top of the stairs, about to enter a room.

"Hey! Do you know where Pietro is?" The dark-haired ninja waved at hand at the girl, hoping to get her attention.

"He's passed away," The woman was interrupted by the party's gasps before she continued, "He's buried by the others. If you wish to go see him then go ahead, but please don't try to dig up his grave." With that, she turned and entered the room, shutting the door behind her.

"We should go pay our respects." Colette suggested, blue eyes wide and sad.

Sheena nodded quietly and exited the inn, not waiting for the others to follow her. When they found her again, she was standing near the top of the village, surrounded by a bunch of graves. The one in the middle was labled "Pietro". The assassin's head was bowed in prayer. Colette quickly joined her side, as did Genis and Raine.

Lloyd stood behind them, a questioning look on his face. As he looked around, he noticed that everyone's head's were bowed. _'The must be praying.' _He thought to himself as he heard footsteps approach from behind. His senses immediately went on high alert as he turned around, finding himself face to face with a brown haired man dressed in dark green and white clothing.

"P-pietro?" Sheena gasped, approaching the man slowly.

"Chosen...mana...boulder...Chosen...die..." The brunette muttered in a zombie-like fashion.

"There you are!" The woman from earlier ran up and placed a hand on Pietro's shoulder, pulling him back towards the inn, "Come on, let's get you home." She stopped and looked up when Raine cleared her throat, staring at her with an angry look on her face.

"You lied...?" Genis said, standing next to his sister. Why would she have lied?

"Yes, but only because he's like this! Everyone who's escaped from the ranch became cursed and eventually died! Now, come on Pietro, let's get you home."

"Wait, we have something to ask him." Kratos said, seeming to appear out of no where. That reminded Lloyd, where had the mercenary disappeared to? "Pietro, how did you escape from the ranch?"

"Boulder...move...Desians...Chosen...die..." With that statement, the woman led Pietro away, telling them that his things were in the grave and that they could have them if they wanted.

"He said boulder...did we see anything like that back at the ranch?" Lloyd asked, turning to Raine.

"Yes...I do remember something looking out of place. We should check it out immediately." The rest of the group agreed. They began the process of digging up the grave, and with everyone's help, they managed to get it done rather quickly. From the grave they received an orb and a couple other irrelevant items.

"So Kratos, where did you go?" Lloyd asked as they headed down the mountain side.

"I went up to the top of the cliff. I met a man who was going to do dragon tours off the top of it." Kratos stated simply walking ahead a bit. Lloyd sighed, having gotten nothing important out of the angel.

"Hey, what's going on down by the inn?" The red-clad twin swordsman stared down at the front of the inn, where a large number of people seemed to be gathered. He hurried down the cliffside, the group following at his heels. What he found was Clara (still a monster) surrounded by a bunch of warriors and a spell caster.

"Come on! The monster's almost dead!" One of the warriors shouted, moving to attack Clara again. Lloyd ran forward with a speed he didn't know he had and managed to parry the attack, saving Dorr's old wife from being dispatched.

"What are you doing?" Another man with a sword growled angrily.

"No! You musn't hurt her!" Colette ran up to Lloyd's side followed by Genis who also was yelling that they couldn't kill Clara. The warriors seemed ready to attack when suddenly Clara moved out from behind the trio and exited the village, dropping something as she ran. The group of people immediately ran after her, shouting curses.

"What did she drop?" Raine inquired, stepping forward and picking up the item that had fallen to the ground, "The key to the Tower of Mana...hm, I wonder why she had it." The half-elf put the key in her pocket and then turned to the group who were exiting the village.

"Wait!"

Lloyd turned, seeing the auburn haired woman from earlier.

"Would you ever be able to do me a favor?" She pleaded, eyes wide.

"What is it?" Kratos asked, a hand on his sword. Lloyd had to resist the urge to snort, this woman seemed harmless, what reason did she have to attack them?

"Find the Boltzman's technique and save Pietro! Please?" She clasped her hands in front of her.

"I suppose if we come across it it wouldn't hurt to come back here and try..." Raine murmured, placing her hand on her chin and thinking, "Yes...we will try to find it for you and if we do I promise to come back here and try to save him."

With that, the group left Hima, the Village of Adventures.

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_**Me: **Yeah..that was a really crappy chapter. Sorry. T_T You may have noticed that I messed with the chain of events...some of that was purposeful, like them finding the key to the Tower of Mana. I just didn't feel like having to type that scene later. Sorry. And is Hima the Village of Adventures? I don't rememeber, if it's not please tell me what it is so I can fix this chapter. xD  
**Lloyd:** REVIEW! :D_


	22. The Asgard Ranch part 2

**_Ch. 22: The Asgard Ranch part 2_**

_**Silver:**__ Man am I on a roll or what?_  
_**Lloyd:** We all know you have ulterior motives._  
_**Me:** -cough- M-me? Ulterior motives? Of course not! It's not like I desperately want to get to the tower of salvation scene__ or anything! Anyways, disclaim me, fool!  
**Lloyd:** SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** One more thing: I still haven't looked up the walkthrough. xD Lazy! Anyways, onto the story!_

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Lloyd grimaced as he sliced the head off of the nearest guard. Maybe the group splitting up had been a bad idea, but they couldn't go back now. Besides, they were supposed to be meeting up in Kvar's room, so everything would be okay, right? Shaking the thoughts from his head, he continued forward, hearing Kratos' and Genis' footsteps pounding behind him.

"Lloyd, make a right at the next corner!" Kratos shouted from behind him.

The brunette nodded silently, not knowing if Kratos had heard or not. He made a right and came face to face with another set of guards. Growling, he sliced one across his chest and yelled back to Kratos, "Are you trying to get us killed?" A rumbling shook the ground as Genis shouted the incantation for a recently learned spell, Dreaded Wave.

"Not at all." Kratos said cooly as he ran up next to Lloyd. The two then did their signature move, Cross Thrust, effectively killing the rest of the enemies in that area, "We must keep moving." With that the mercenary ran ahead, not waiting to see if Lloyd and Genis were following.

Earlier that day they had been camping just outside the perimiter of the ranch, having reached the area late that night. After discovering the rock and getting inside, Raine had managed to find the location of Kvar and that he also had a guard system protecting his room. Thus, they had split up so one group could deactivate the system while the other got to Kvar's room to take him down.

"Lloyd, pay attention!" Genis shouted to the twin-swordsman, who barely managed to avoid the arrow flying at his head, "I'm not Raine so I can't heal, be careful, alright?" The half-elf handed Lloyd an apple gel and ran to the back of the battle to cast some more magic.

Lloyd rubbed the gel on his cheek where the arrow had barely scratched him and ran back into the midst of the fighting. He was covered in blood, as were his swords, but for some odd reason the fact did not bother him. With a newfound surge of energy at the realization that he wasn't disgusted anymore, he quickly worked together with Kratos and dispatched the last of the Desians.

"How many more battles do we have to fight before we find this damn room?" Lloyd grumbled as they sat and rested for a moment.

"I estimate that we are close to the room by now. Raine's group has most likely deactivated the system by now." Kratos said as he swallowed an orange gel. He had been there temporary healer in Raine's abscence and probably wasn't used to using so much engergy.

"It won't be that long then!" Genis grinned, pumping a fist into the air.

Lloyd smiled at his friends enthusiasm, wishing that he had the naivety (sp?) that Genis did. The angel stood up and grinned, he would finally be able to avenge his mom. Turning to Kratos and Genis, he placed his hands behind his head and asked, "Ready?"

The two nodded and stood with him. With that motion, they continued their search for the room in which Kvar would be hiding.

After about five more battles and the usage of a lot more apple gels, they had finally come across a warp pad, "This must be it!" Lloyd said, feeling a bit more energized, for Genis had given him an orange gel just before they arrived here.

With a nod from Kratos, Lloyd stepped onto the warp pad and immediately felt the mana the machine used pull at him for a moment before he apppeared in a large room. He heard Genis and Kratos arrive behind him and stepped forward.

"So the intruders have finally arrived." A voice came from Lloyd's right, "Welcome, Lloyd Irving. Have you decided to give me the Angelus Project?" Kvar stepped into the lighting of the room with an evil grin on his face, eyebrows narrowed into a glare.

"I'll never give this to you." Lloyd growled and pulled out his swords, "Kvar, prepare to die!" He shouted as loud as he could and charged at the half-elf. He heard Kratos do the same, but when he caught a glimpse of the mercenary he saw that he was busy with a floating golem. Another had appeared that Genis was currently fending off with magic. That left Kvar to Lloyd.

As he had been dashing at the Grand Cardinal, he didn't notice that the golem Genis was currently casting magic on had been coming near him until he felt a surge of mana-based electricity run through his body. He screamed and fell to the ground, the spot at the base of his neck pulsating with a newfound life. He let out another scream of pain as the base of his neck seemed explode.

"Ah, so Lord Yggdrasil has done what he said he would do." Lloyd thought he heard Kvar say as the half-elf approached him. The angel let out a growl and stood up, pain and adrenaline racing throughout his body, "No need to fight, dear boy, you will be dead soon." The Grand Cardinal pulled out a staff and thrust the sharp end at Lloyd's head, the brunette barely dodging it.

"No...I won't die." The swordsman grabbed his swords from the ground and got into a defensive stance, determined to fight until his last breath. Then, unexpectedly, Kratos kicked the half-elf in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.

"Are you alright?" The mercenary inquired, handing him an apple gel.

Lloyd, gasping replied, "Yeah...I just-" He stopped as the pain in his neck suddenly went away. His eyes suddenly gained a red tint to them, and his stance was suddenly much more confident, "I am fine." Was all he said before he charged at Kvar, who was now standing again.

Kratos' eyes widened as he saw the changes in Lloyd, knowing exactly what had happened to his son. That whole 'Lloyd getting lost in a forest' had just been a ploy to kidnap his son and..."Dammit." Kratos cursed under his breath and then ran to go help Lloyd.

The angel had released his wings, which were now the color of his eyes, except they were more red than brown, and was slashing and dodging faster than Kratos' eyes could follow. Suddenly Lloyd jumped back flew behind Kratos, chanting under his breath.

"Sacred powers, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls. Rest in peace sinners, Judgement!" As Lloyd finished, spears of light came down from the sky, striking Kvar and the remaining golem. The golem disintegrated, but Kvar had somehow managed to live. Suddenly, Lloyd's surge of confidence and energy was gone, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Lloyd, are you okay?" Genis shouted as he ran up to the brunette. He quickly gave him an orange gel and helped him get to his feet.

"W..what happened...?" Lloyd murmured. All he remembered was an immense pain and then he blacked out.

Genis shrugged, noting that Lloyds eyes were back to a normal brown and his wings were back to being a sky blue color, "You kicked butt. But that doesn't matter now. We've got to get you out of here so you can rest and recover."

Just then Sheena, Raine and Colette arrived, running over to Genis and Lloyd.

"Is everyone alright?" Raine said, checking the two for injuries. When she found nothing but a few small scratches, she looked around, "Where's Kratos?"

"Over here." A calm voice said. Kratos was standing where Kvar had fallen. The half-elf lay panting on the ground, bleeding from multiple and probably critical wounds. Kratos glared and stabbed the man in the chest, resisting the urge to stab him again as he walked away, "We must get out of here."

"Yes...hold on a moment." Raine said and walked over to a control panel. Pressing a few buttons, she turned and, with a satisfied look, said, "Let's get out of here."

b0r0e0a0k0l0i0n0e

As they set up camp in Luin for the night, Lloyd sat on the sandy ground and staired up at the sky. The stars were shining beautifully that night, but his mind was elsewhere. Where had all that pain come from, and why did he suddenly and completely randomly black out?

"Lloyd...are you alright?" Kratos said, approaching the boy and sitting down next to him.

Said teen nodded, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders as he shivered in the cool night breeze. Suddenly a gust of wind blew the blanket off of his shoulders, revealing a deep cut on his back. Kratos resisted the urge to gasp and silently began to gather mana.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd said, turning his head to face Kratos.

"Lloyd! You're bleeding!" Genis said, running over to them. He was followed by Sheena, Colette and Raine, who was already preparing to cast First Aid.

"Really?" Lloyd turned his head, trying to see the wound on his back. For a moment, he forgot that his friends didn't know he could no longer eat, sleep or feel and he also forgot his and Colette's promise, "I can't really feel it."

Colette had a worried look on her face before it changed to a determined one and she began to speak, "Guys...I have something to tell you."

"I suppose you're going to tell us that you and Lloyd can no longer sleep, eat or feel." Raine crossed her arms as Kratos slowly began to heal the deep gash in Lloyd's back. After the cut was gone, there was nothing but a scar and a rip in the teenagers jacket and undershirt left.

"You...you already knew?" Colette gasped, clasping her hands in front of her.

"Of course. It was quite obvious that you two were only eating very little and were not sleeping at all. As for not being able to feel, well...I didn't have a chance to confirm my suspicions until now." Raine then sat down at her original spot.

Lloyd unexpectedly chuckled, grinning slightly, "So..now that you all know, I suppose I can tell you that I think Colette is slowly losing her humanity as she becomes an angel. That's probably the reason why she can't eat, feel or sleep anymore." He stood up and grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around his shoulders again.

"Losing her...humanity?" Sheena gasped from her spot on the ground, "That's...that's terrible!"

"You are most likely right." Kratos walked away from the group and took his place beside Noishe, who whined and nudged the merecenary's head. Said swordsman patted the 'dogs' side and sighed.

"Does that mean Colette isn't human anymore?" Genis questioned, eyes wide and frightful.

"No...she can still feel human emotions, right? So that means that she's still human." Lloyd grinned reassuringly at his half-elf friend and then sat down again, staring up at the stars, "Anyways, we're going back to Hanakonesia peak tomorrow, right? So you all should try to get some sleep." The rest of the group agreed warily and then went to their respective sleeping places.

"Lloyd...are you sure you're alright?" Colette said, sitting next to the brunette.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Despite his calm demeanor, Lloyd knew that he would never be truly alright again.

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_**Me:** So..how was that? I thought it was okay and a bit longer, but I don't know...xD REVIEW!  
**Lloyd:** YES, REVIEW SO SHE CAN QUICKLY GET TO THE TOWER SCENE!_


	23. The Temple of Light

**_Ch. 23: The Temple of Light_**

**_Silver: _**_So I know that in the last chapter Lloyd said they would be going to Hanakonesia peak, right? But like, I didn't really want to do that...and the only reason I was was so they could discover the unicorn and stuff. But then I was like "I don't wanna write that..." so..yeah. xD  
**Lloyd:** In other words, she's lazy.  
**Me:** Yup yup! So instead, I'm skipping to the Tower of Mana and just kind of explaining what happens with the unicorn as it goes on. Or something like that...xD So, Lloyd, disclaim me!  
**Lloyd:** Alright alright...SilverMoon doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward! To Canada! OwO I mean...um...I didn't look up the walkthrough..? Erm...enjoy! Once again I apologize for my extreme laziness with this. I imagine it annoys you deeply..._

_

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_

Lloyd sighed as he stared at the tower that rose up before he and the rest of the group. The sheer height of the tower made Lloyd want to give up now. Not to mention the amount of blisters he already had on his feet would soon be increasing in their numbers. Shaking his head he reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. Tossing it to Raine, who we was sure knew how to use it, he grinned. This was their last seal before the Tower of Salvation.

"Are you coming, Lloyd?" Sheena called from in front of him, having noticed his abscence, "Or are you just going to stand there grining like an idiot?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry." He said and followed after the rest of the party.

_'I like the inside much better than the outside.' _Lloyd thought as he eyed the room they had walked into after opening the door. The walls of the room seemed to go up and up forever, and they were also lined with shelves full of books. In front of them was an oracle stone on a pedestal. This was definately the seal.

"Colette, the stone, if you would?" Raine stared at the Chosen, arms crossed and eyes very curious.

Lloyd's thoughts, however, continued backtracking. A couple days ago they had gone back to Hanakonesia Peak and discovered a unicorn in Lake Umacy while they had been resting. Sheena mentioned something about being able to summon Unidine and they ended up going to back to the Temple of Water. There, Sheena made a pact with the Summon Spirit of Water and they managed to save the unicorn. In return, they recieved it's horn.

"Lloyd, are you paying attention?" The white haired half-elf turned towards him, glaring.

"Uh...what were you saying?" That gained him a smack to the head before the Professor turned back to three glowing platforms that had appeared when Colette placed her hand upon the oracle stone.

"I was saying that we would have to split up so that one group could get through the door." She gestured towards Sheena, Genis and Colette who were standing on the platforms. The door on the far right side of the wall that had been closed was open, but as soon as Gens stepped off of it, it closed again.

"Raine, look!" Genis, who had wandered away from the circle was scanning the bookshelf on the leftside of the wall. He pulled out a thick book written in a language Lloyd couldn't decipher. The mage, however, was smiling as he handed the book to Raine.

"It's the Boltezman's (sp?) technique!" The teacher opened the book, skimming it's pages before closing it and placing it back on the shelf, "Based on what I've read, I believe I'll be able to save Pietro with the unicorn's horn we obtained and the technique I've just read about."

"We should get going." Kratos said, turning to head towards the door.

"Wait, shouldn't we decide who's going on what side of the party?" Sheena said, tilting her head at the mercenary.

"Ah, yes...in that case, Chosen, would you please choose who's going to come with us?" Kratos placed a hand on his hip, standing patiently off to the side of the scene. Colette looked around at the group for a second before gaining a determined look on her face.

"Lloyd."

"Hm?" Lloyd said, not looking up from the book he was currently holding. It was a book on craftsmanship.

"Lloyd's...reading?" Genis shouted, eyes wide. He then broke into a fit of laughter, grinning wildly. Said teen looked up, staring around the room curiously.

"What did I miss?" He placed the book back on the shelf and turned to the group. When he saw what Genis was doing, he grinned and playfully punched the mage on the shoulder, "Shut up, Genis." With that he turned to Colette and asked, "What did you want?"

"You're going to come with me and Kratos. I-I mean if that's okay..." She trailed off, looking at her feet with a worried expression on her face.

"Yeah, sure."

With that, Sheena, Genis and Raine took their places on the platforms while Kratos, Lloyd and Colette headed off through the door.

Lloyd fell to his knees when they finally reached the top of the stairs, gasping for breath, "Who knew..." he gasped, "that running up that many stairs could tire even an angel out..." When he finally stood up again he found that Kratos had moved on without them. Colette, being the nice person she was, stayed behind to make sure he was okay.

When they found him again he was standing in front of an odd machine.

"What's up?" Lloyd asked as he walked up to the mercenary.

"A path should be appearing about..." As soon as Kratos stopped speaking a glowing pathway made of light appeared to their right, creating a bridge so they could get across to the next part. Lloyd's eyes widened as he walked over to it.

"Is this safe to walk on?" He said, poking at it. As soon as his finger touched it though, he felt another sharp pain at the base of his neck, the same spot it had happened on before. Pulling away quickly, he stood up again and turned to Kratos and Colette, half-grinning, "I think it's safe enough."

The trio walked across, albeit warily, but still managed to find their way across. It took another two (shorter) flights of stairs until they finally reached what seemed to be the top. As soon as the group arrived footsteps sounded from behind them, making them aware of their other halfs arrival.

"So, what do we do now?" Sheena placed her hands on her hips, staring at the not functioning warp pad in front of her, "How do you plan to start this thing up?" She prodded it with her foot, and, when recieving no response, turned back to Raine, who was standing in front of another pedestal that held to more blue platforms behind them.

"I think we're supposed to stand on these." The teacher placed hand on her chin, and with the other, waved Lloyd over, "Come here, Lloyd. Stand on this one." With her free hand she gestured towards the pedestal on her right.

Lloyd obeyed, standing on it and staring down at his feet as if the floor would start glowing. Suprisingly, after Genis stood on the one next to Lloyd, something did begin to glow, however it was not the floor beneath Lloyd's feet.

"Aha!" Raine said, walking over to the warp pad and stepping on it. She disappeared in the same fashion that people usually did when using that form of transporation.

The rest followed suit and came out to what seemed the top of the tower. Lloyd immediately ran over to the edge looking down at how high up they were. His eyes widened and he grinned.

"Wow! Look at the view from up here!" The twin swordsman turned and ran over to the other edge, completely ignoring the fact that something had appeared in front of his friends. He searched and then gasped, "You can almost see Luin from up here!" The wind whipped at his hair and he gasped when he felt a large amount of mana surging up from behind him. He immediately let out his wings and turned, finding himself face to face with what looked like a giagantic dog.

"Lloyd, look out!" Colette shouted as the monster brought it's paw down to smack the angel in the face. Lloyd, moving so fast that not even Kratos could make out his shape as he did so, dodged it and jumped into the air, hovering just out of reach of the monster.

The thing below him growled in warning before it spat a beam of light out of it's mouth. Lloyd, having sensed the mana as it was being gathered, casually moved to the side. His eyes were wide, where had these skills come from? Everything was suddenly clearer and he could sense the enemies movements a lot more. The beast seemed to give up on Lloyd and turned to face off against Kratos and Colette.

_'Bad idea.' _Lloyd chuckled darkly in his head. He stopped before he went to move. Where had that come from? Shaking his head and muttering that he needed to focus on the battle, he flew straight down, nose diving at the monster, but before he could stab it in the back like he was planning to it moved to the side and he had to pull up so he wouldn't hit the ground with his face. He heard the big paw swishing for his head before he saw it and dodged upwards, almost as if it was a natural thing to do.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" Raine called out from below him.

_'She couldn't see if I had gotten injured by that blast of light.' _Lloyd realized, also noting that her attacks would be fairly useless on this monster, for it was the element of light. Therefore, she really had nothing she could do, "Yeah, I'm fine!" He called back, and, after seeing Kratos get scratched rather badly, shouted down to her, "Heal Kratos!" Before he flew off, back into the fray.

After a while of fighting, the monster and the group were both bleeding from heavy blows. Lloyd growled, wiping sweat from his brow. His swords were bloody and sticky with blue fur, but he was still standing tall, and barely injured.

"Colette!" He called, catching the blondes attention, "Let's finish it with that one unison technique we've been working on (1)!" The Chosen nodded in return, both of them jumping back to the edges of the battle.

"Oh holy one," The two angels began to chant in unison, "I beg of thee to reveal thy glory." The mana began to swirl in around them in a whirlwind of blue and pink feathers. With a final burst of mana, the two finished the spell with a shout of, "Dual Angel Feathers!" and the swirling mass of blue and pink feathers flew at the monster, each sharp as knives.

Colette stepped up to the altar, got on her knees, and prayed. As she finished, a glowing ball of mana shot down from the sky, revealing Remiel in all his "glory".

It was around this time that Lloyd noted a dull itching feeling on the base of his neck. Trying to ignore it and pay attention to the scene before him, he found that it soon became too unbearable not to scratch at. Throwing his arm as casually as he could behind his head, he began to scratch at the spot but found that his hand had hit something...hard. Eyes widening slowly, he felt around the object there. It felt kind of like an exsphere, except...sharper, kind of like a diamond, "W-what the hell...?" He murmured.

"Something wrong, Lloyd?" Genis asked, staring at his friend.

"Ah...no, n-nothings wrong..." Lloyd grinned back, removing his hand from his neck and trying to ignore the growing feeling of panic in his stomach. _'How the hell did that even get there?' _He shouted in his head, resisting the urge to grab at the crystal again.

Once Colette was done speaking with the angel, she turned and they exited the altar room, heading down the tower (the shortest way, which was the one Raine's group had taken) and reached the stairs when suddenly Colette collapsed again. This time, however, Lloyd was able to catch her.

"Are you alright, Colette?" Genis gasped, running over to them.

"It's the Angel Toxicosis. We should rest here for the night." Raine suggested walking over to them as well. She placed her hand on Colette's forehead and then stood up again, "Yes...it is the Toxicosis as I thought." Turning, she took their things off of Noishe, who had been waiting outside, and began to set up camp.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sheena said, kneeling in front of the Chosen.

"I..." Colette tried to say something, but before the word was even understandable it died in her throat. Shaking her head, she tried again, "..." Her eyes widened.

"I would imagine she's lost her voice." Kratos stated as he set up a sleeping bag for Colette. After he was done with that, he turned to Lloyd, "Can you speak?"

Lloyd opened his mouth, but no sound came out. With a sheepish grin, he shook his head, giving a face that said 'I guess not'. The twin swordsman stood and walked over to Noishe, pulling some more supplies off of him. Turning back, he placed the sleeping bags he'd grabbed on the ground, setting up a place for him to sleep as well as Kratos'. After that was done, he sat on a nearby rock, staring up at the stars like he did every night.

"Thank you, Lloyd." Kratos said, sitting down next to the teen. In reply, Lloyd nodded, grinning slightly. The mercenary found himself staring up at the stars as well, reminiscing on the time that he and Lloyd used to do this. However, in those times, Lloyd would be on his shoulders and pulling at his hair.

"Dinners done!" Genis shouted from by the campfire. Lloyd smiled and stood, waiting for Kratos. When the mercenary had fully stood up, he grabbed his and and began to write (something he'd picked up from Colette).

"You're welcome, dad." Is what he wrote before he walked back to the campfire, joining the others for dinner.

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_**1:** It's obviously not a real unison attack, but if Lloyd was an angel, it totally would be one. xD_

_**Me:** Okay, so this one was rather long. And it would've been longer if I hadn't decided to cut out the scene where Sheena speaks up. That'll be in the next chapter 'cause I'm planning on starting that one off when it's still nighttime.  
**Lloyd:** Okay, so now she needs to go to sleep and you people need to review.  
**Me: **Goodnight and hope you enjoyed._


	24. Tethe'alla

**Ch. 24: Tethe'alla**

_**Young:** Hey guys, I'm really sorry about not updating. I bet your pretty annoyed, eh? But I'm trying, I really am! Its just hard with school, and then we moved, and then my dad and my sister got into a car accident, and then I was sick. God, I seem to have a lot of excuses. ._  
_**Lloyd:** At least you finally got around to it._  
_**Me:** I guess. Disclaimer?_  
_**Lloyd:** Sure. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco._  
_**Me:** Oh and if you haven't noticed I changed my username. xD I am also writing this from memory, so...yeah. That and I just realized that they're supposed to be in a hotel. Well, they're not now. xD_

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It was after dinner, everyone had eaten and had full stomachs. The group was just sitting around the campfire, enjoying each others company. Lloyd and Colette, however, were just sitting and smile for they were unable to speak due to the "Angel Toxicosis".

It was then that Sheena decided to stand and speak, "Everyone, I have something to tell you all. I'm going to explain why I was after Colette." The ninja sheepishly half-grinned, sitting back down to get comfortable and tell her long tale.

"You mean you're going to tell us that you are not from this world?" Raine spoke from her spot directly across from the Tethe'allan. The purple haired girls eyes were wide and she gasped, stunned.

"Y...you knew?"

"It was obvious by the way you dress and speak. Your clothes are clothes that I have not seen before, and you also said something back in the Temple of Wind that struck me as odd. Why would _your people _not be happy if Colette regenerated Sylvarant?" The healer tilted her head as she spoke, emphasizing 'your people' to show what struck her as odd.

"Ah...that. Well, I'm from a world called Tethe'alla." Sheena began, slowly, allowing the others time to ask their questions.

"Do you mean the moon?" Genis gasped, "That's silly. No one lives on the moon."

"No, not the moon, Genis. I mean theres another planet out there that other people live on. It's basically on another dimension, so you can't see it. You also can't see Sylvarant from Tethe'alla either." The purple clad ninja shifted herself, having become uncomfortable from the stares she was getting.

Lloyd found himself dumbfounded. How could there be another planet out there that no one knows of. At the same time, however, he was very interested with what was being discussed. Anything that had to do with the skies above them and the things contained was interesting to him. He turned to Kratos and began to write in his hand.

"So how did you get here?"

Sheena turned as Kratos read, realizing that the mercenary was reading what Lloyd was writing in his hand, "I used something called a Rheaird (sp?). It allowed me to travel between the dimensions. I was sent here by Tethe'alla's king to kill the Chosen so our world would stay prosperous."

"Wait, what do you mean by prosperous?" Genis asked, leaning forward and interested as well.

"The two worlds are locked in a game of tug o' war. Not literally, of course, but something like it. They vie for the small amount of mana between them. When one has more mana, the other is declining. Right now, Sylvarant is in decline and Tethe'alla is in prosper." Sheena shifted again, trying to remember all the imformation she had been told by the Renegades.

"So does that mean when we release the final seal it will reverse the mana flow?" Raine questioned, also very interested in the conversation taking place.

"Exactly. At least, that's what I was told." Sheena's expression became one of determination as Colette began to frown, "Though, if it comes down to it. I'm going to have to fight you again. I care about you guys, but I can't just let down my world."

Colette turned to Raine, and began to write in her hand, "If it comes down to that, I will fight too. But I will ask Remiel to see if he can do anything to help Tethe'alla."

Sheena smiled at that, a genuine smile that shown in the firelight, "Thank you, Colette." Though, the ninja knew that if it truly came down to it, she wouldn't be able to fight them. All the things they had gone through together were weighing in her mind, and she just couldn't bring herself to even think of fighting the friends she had come to know.

Lloyd stood from his spot, stretching his back and his wings, before slowly putting away the appendages and heading over to his sleeping bag. The group had begun to prepare for bed as well, all of them going to their respected areas.

"You should be getting some rest. Tomorrow is a big day."

Lloyd turned to see Kratos, and smiled, motioning for the mercenary to sit by him so Lloyd could write in his hand, "You know I can't do that. I can't sleep anymore, remember?" The red clad teen grinned and looked back up at the sky, dropping Kratos' hand as he did.

"Still, you should at least lie down and try to recover some of your strength." In truth, Kratos didn't want Lloyd to be any weaker when they went to the Tower. He was worried that something could happen to the teen.

Lloyd nodded, quickly laying down on his sleeping bag and closing his eyes, trying to rest.

Kratos stood and walked away, satisfied. The mercenary walked over to Noishe, who had been sitting by Kratos' things and gestured for the animal to follow him a little ways into the trees. When they had gone far enough away from the group to not be heard, Kratos turned to the dog and began to speak.

"Listen, Noishe. I want you to take care of Lloyd while I'm gone." He trailed off, having heard a branch crack. Then there was a burst of energy as someone warped into the clearing followed by a blur of red jumping in front of Kratos. The mercenary was stunned, watching as Lloyd deflected the ball of lightning and then stabbed the attacker in the stomach, causing him to disappear. The twin swordsman turned and faced Kratos, grinning sheepishly before grabbing his hand.

"Are you okay?" The teen wrote, looking over Kratos to see if he was injured.

"I am fine, Lloyd. I thank you for stopping that assasin though. I had not noticed his presence." The swordsman was truly grateful. It had made him proud to see his son react and move so fast. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry..._'No. Against Yggdrasil, anyone is in danger. Even Lloyd.' _He reminded himself as Lloyd began to write again.

"Good, I'm glad. What were you doing out here, anyways?"

"I was going to look at the stars. I couldn't really see them from the camp so I decided to come out here." Kratos lied, turning and rubbing Noishe's side, "Anyways, we should be heading back. The others will be worried." He and the dog then began to head out of the clearing, but suddenly the mercenary stopped and turned, "Don't die, Lloyd." This made Lloyd make a confused face and grab the mercenary's hand.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it." With that, the swordsman turned and exited the clearing, Noishe in tow.

_'How can he tell me something like that and then expect me not to worry about it?' _Lloyd thought to himself before shaking his head and exiting the clearing as well. He needed to get some rest, for tomorrow would be a long day.

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_**Me: **Hey hey hey! Welcome to the bottom of the page. xD Lolz. Thanks for reading and stuffs. I hope you liked it. The next chapter I am so exited for! I've been waiting for this moment for like, months! Years, even! Okay..maybe not years, but you get the idea. Lloyd, do you have anything to say before I close this baby and see how long it is? And then post it?  
**Lloyd:** Not really. But good job...I guess.  
**Me:** Awww! -hugs- thank you! ANYWAYS. Review? Thanks again for reading! :D Also, I just checked. This is reallly short. Sorry about that. -.-'_


	25. The Tower of Salvation part 1

**Ch. 25: Tower of Salvation part 1**

_**Young:** Hey guys! I've been waiting for this chapter for, like, ever! I can't believe I'm actually here. I have so many ideas for this part so I'm makin' this short. Lloyd, do it!_  
_**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco!_  
_**Me:** Onward! Also, I figured I'd cut this into to parts. It might get kind of long with what I plan to do. xD Sorry about that. **Oh and one warning,** **there is quite a bit of language in this chapter. The f-word IS used. **_

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Lloyd had awoken that morning with a terrible feeling in his gut. It wasn't a feeling of being sick, like he was going to throw up, but more of a feeling of dread. Something was going to happen today, and it wouldn't be good. That much he could tell. He stood and stretched, feeling a slight pull on his neck where the crystal lay.

"Lloyd, hurry up, we've got to go!" Genis called, running over to his friend and helping with his bags. The small half-elf grinned wide, "Todays the day, Lloyd! We're gonna get to see the world be regenerated!" The excitment in his eyes was evident as the two caught up with the group and headed into Hima. They had stayed in the forest that night to save cash.

Lloyd found himself walking side by side with Kratos, who, for some odd reason, refused to even look his way, "Morning Kratos." He wrote on the mercenaries hand, hoping to redeem whatever friendship he and the auburn haired man had had.

The swordsman reply was to grunt, nod and then walk further ahead of the group.

In response to this, Lloyd waited for Genis and then wrote on his small hand, "Kratos is acting strange."

"Maybe he's just nervous." Genis said, tilting his head in thought.

_"Hm..."_ Lloyd walked ahead a little, thinking to himself. What was wrong with Kratos? Things were sure going weird today. Even Raine was basically ignoring him, and Colette wouldn't look him in the eye. The only one who had talked to him at all today was Genis. Something was up, and Lloyd wanted to know what the hell it was, because it was making him mad.

It was then that he noticed Colette's body language. Her head was down, and her eyes were closed, like she was trying to prepare herself for something. Was the regeneration of the world really that scary of a thought?

"Lloyd!"

He looked up, seeing Genis looking at him worridly. The brunette tilted his head, wondering why the mage was looking at him like that.

"Who do you want to ride on the dragons with?"

Lloyd thought and then pointed at Sheena, who gave him a questioning look before nodding. He chuckled, realizing that the ninja thought he wanted to talk about something important. He did, of course, but it was still funny to think that someone he hadn't even known for a while could read him so easily.

As they sat, Sheena brought up the subject, "Have you noticed? Everyone's been acting strange today." The twin swordsman nodded in response, noting that if he had to talk, it would be hard considering he was sitting in front of her, "I saw Kratos brush you off. He's acting very suspiciouly. Even when he wanted to ride ahead with Colette. What is hiding from us?"

Lloyd stuck a hand back, making a furious attempt to try and write in Sheena's palm, "I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good." He turned and faced her for a quick second, showing her how serious his expression was before turning back to the front and navigating the dragon so they could land.

"Come on you guys, were gonna miss it!" Genis waved an arm at them as they ran up the stairs. Lloyd didn't miss the sad look on Raine's face as she saw how happy and excited her younger brother was.

_'What the fuck is going on?'_ Lloyd growled in his head. He wanted to get to the bottom of this so bad.

He and the others headed into the tower, cautiously moving in case there were any monsters. What they found, was no monster, but a monstrosity.

"Are those bodies?" Raine gasped, disgusted.

"The bodies of the chosen that failed previously..." Sheena muttered, eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth. Genis stood next to her, face pale. Lloyd knew that they all must be thinking the same thing and ran to the warp pad, quickly warping away.

When his vision centered again, he was standing at a giant altar surrounded by pillars with little floating balls of light in the center of each. In the middle of the altar was Colette, on her knees and praying with all her might. Lloyd gasped and ran towards her, only to be grabbed by Genis, who was staring at the angel that had come down from the sky.

"Now, Chosen, finish your duty as the vessel for Martel!" Remiel shouted, raising his arms up and grinning wickedly, "With this, I'll finally be raised to the level of Seraphim."

"Colette, no!" Sheena shouted, eyes wide.

Lloyd pushed away from Genis, rushing up the stairs and to Colette. He grabbed her arms, trying to keep her from doing anything else, but her wings were out and she had already began to float upwards.

_'No, Colette! Please, don't go!'_

_'It's okay, Lloyd. I'm glad I can finally talk to you again before I go. Please, don't be sad.' _With that said, she floated until she was level with Remiel and then closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were red and lifeless.

"I have no further use for you, die!"

And the battle began.

Lloyd immediately charged at the angel in a fit of rage. He felt the same kind of power reign over him again as Remiel let out a burst of energy. When Lloyd's wings emerged from his back, they were a deep, maroon red that matched the color of Colette's eyes. The twin swordsman swung his sword, cutting a deep gash in Remiel's shoulder before jumping back to avoid an arrow made completely of light.

"Lloyd, unison!" Sheena shouted, letting him know that they were about to combine their attacks for an all out effort. He nodded, and ran back next to the ninja. While Sheena threw a Serpant Seal towards their opponent, Lloyd stabbed his swords through his chest while mouthing the words, 'Sonic Thrust!'.

Somehow, the angel was still barely alive when another presence made itself noticed in the tower. The other angel was standing on the altar, next to the lifeless body of Colette. His arms were crossed and his eyes were narrowed into a glare, "That's enough." Said Kratos as he turned to face the group.

_'K-Kratos?' _

* * *

_**Me:** There's part one! :D Hope you enjoyed._  
_**Lloyd:** Review?_


	26. The Tower of Salvation part 2

**Ch. 26: The Tower of Salvation Part 2**

_**Young: **Hey guys. :D I'm really excited for this one. However, I did have most of this typed before and I was gonna post it earlier, but somehow it got deleted. T_T Needless to say, I liked the first draft better. So yeah...Disclaim me Lloyd.  
**Lloyd:** Okay. Young doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward! Oh yeah, and while reading this, please try listening to "Paradise Lost" by Hollywood Undead. It fits, kinda. :D Well, mostly for the beginning until Yggy arrives._

* * *

Lloyd gasped, staring wide eyed as Kratos stepped out of the shadows. The man who he'd called dad, the man he'd trusted with his life, was now standing in front of him and glaring like they were his worst enemies. What was he even doing here? His question was soon stated by Raine, who drew back and gasped as Kratos appeared.

"Kratos, what are you doing here?" She questioned, glaring suspiciously. The half-elf already knew the answer to the question, but still felt the need to ask. The desperation and confusion in Lloyd's eyes was enough reason to. It still shocked her that the worst case scenario that she thought of had actually come true.

Kratos, on the other hand, chose to stay silent. He was busily thinking of the decision he would have to make. Fight, or flee with the Chosen. He would certainly get chewed out by Yggdrasil, but he couldn't stand the thought of fighting his own son. He vaguely heard the rest of the group question his presence as well, but it was the thought of what Yggdrasil would do to them that pushed him to make his decsion. Turning to face them, he revealed his wings and pulled his sword from it's sheath, "I am an angel of Cruxis, one of the Four Seraphim who serve our Lord, Yggdrasil."

"Don't you dare come a step closer, bastard!" Sheena shouted, her dark eyes fierce and shining with anger and hatred, "How dare you do something like this to us, to Lloyd!" The ninja pulled her cards from her pockets, going into a defensive stance.

Lloyd drew back when the angel began to approach. Kratos had...betrayed them? His eyes were wide as a sense of confusion and turmoil spread throughout his body like a wildfire. Distantly, he saw Kratos charge at Sheena and the rest of the group began to fight as well, but he couldn't bring himself to fight his own father. His eyes welled with tears, and the swords that had still been out since his fight with Remiel fell to the ground next to him. The overwhelming sense of dread crashed over him like a wave, sending him to his knees. Kratos had tricked him.

"Lloyd, you must fight! Get up!" Raine shouted to her student, trying to get him to stand and pick up his swords. Without him, the group would not last. He and Kratos had been their strength when they fought. Without either of them, they were doomed, "Please!"

At this moment, Sheena was locked in a clash with the Seraph. Jumping back, she shouted, "Pyre Seal!" And managed to knock the angel back a couple feet before he recovered and charged again, "Genis, please hurry with that spell!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, hoping by some chance that the small half-elf would hear her.

Lloyd was still locked in an inner battle, trying to force himself to do something, anything. He wanted to scream, to fight, to cry and to kill. The urge to kill was overwhelming, and somewhere deep inside himself, Lloyd knew it wasn't coming from him. But soon enough, rage overtook and a scream ripped itself from the swordsman's throat. Dimly aware of the fact that he could speak again, Lloyd turned to face Kratos, who had stopped fighting and was staring at Lloyd. Said teen stood, picking up his swords and glaring at Kratos with blood red eyes. His wings burst out from his back, a firey red color to match the rage burning inside of him.

"You bastard," Lloyd growled, lifting one of his swords and pointing it at Kratos, "I can't believe I trusted you. I can't believe I even fucking believed you! I'll kill you you tratorus piece of shit!" He knew that all this rage shouldn't be directed at Kratos. Even knew that he wasn't truly angry at his dad. He was angry at himself for not being able to realize it sooner. Growling so low and menacing that it almost was demonic, he charged at Kratos, letting an animalistic scream lose as he swung at the angel.

"Lloyd..." Sheena muttered, worrying over her friend. Making up her mind, she charged at the angel as well, letting lose her own volley of attacks. She was also pissed, having known the mercenary for only a short time, she had still trusted him. When she looked at Lloyd, she saw tears streaming from his eyes.

"Why the hell are you doing this to me, to us?" Lloyd shouted, wiping one glove over his eyes and glaring.

"I-"

"Enough of this foolishness, Kratos, kill them already." Kratos' eyes visibly widened when this voice spoke. His worst fears had come true. The battle had taken too long, and Yggdrasil had made his appearance. The blonde angel floated on the altar, next to the lifeless body of Colette who had been virtually forgotten.

"I am sorry, Lord Yggdrasil." Kratos teleported to the top of the altar, and kneeled in front of his master, hoping that said angel would decide to leave them alone and head back to Derris Kharlan. The chances of that actually happening were very slim.

"Ah...no matter. I will handle them myself. Or maybe I should just turn their own against them." Yggdrasil chuckled, turning to face Lloyd, who stared wide eyed up at him, "Hello again, Lloyd. Though, I suppose you don't remember me. Ah, well, it doesn't matter. I still control you." With that and another burst of maniacal laughter, he shot a ball of mana straight at Lloyd, who was blown back into a pillar, nearly knocked unconcious, "That should take care of things."

"What did you do?" Genis shouted, the fear evident in his voice and on his face.

"I just...gave him a little push." The angel chuckled and pushed the hair out of his eyes, watching as Lloyd slowly stood up again. However, this time his eyes were nearly black, and they were almost as lifeless as Colette's were.

"L-Lloyd...?" Sheena questioned, frightened at the way the teen was looking at her and the group, "Are you alright?" There was no response to her question, however, the teen did look up, and the look in his eyes was enough to nearly make Sheena run away then and there. If it hadn't been for the fact that they needed to get Colette back and that she was truly rooted to the spot, she would've been out of there in a second.

Lloyd grinned wickedly, before charging at Sheena and the rest of the group. Said group of people were shocked by Lloyd's actions. Had he betrayed them as well?

Kratos' eyes narrowed, watching closely at the back of Lloyd's neck. The gem that lay there had begun to glow brightly. His eyes widened, realizing that his fears had been confirmed. He turned to Yggdrasil and saw that the angel was watching Lloyd, a crazed smile on his face, "Lord Yggdrasil-"

"Let's go Kratos, things should be taken care of here." The angel grinned, making a mental note to capture Lloyd later, "Grab the Chosen." He muttered before disappearing.

Kratos was about to leave when he heard a crash and a loud shout. He turned and saw that Lloyd had been knocked to the ground by a Renegade. The others had also been knocked out. Botta stood at the center of the commotion. The brunette looked up and made eye contact with Kratos for a moment before barking another order and running from the tower.

Kratos inwardly grinned, maybe Yggdrasil hadn't won yet. Silently thanking the gods, if there were any, he grabbed Colette and warped away.

xXxXxXx

Lloyd awoke, feeling a tug at his chest. Sitting up slowly, he felt a sharp pain at the base of his neck and his lower back. It must've been from when he hit the pillar. But...where was he? And what happened after that? After he had been thrown into the pillar, he had blacked out.

"Lloyd...we have some questions we'd like to ask you." The twin swordsman turned to see Raine sitting in a chair nearby his bed.

It was only then that he realized that he was tied up.

* * *

_**Me:** So yeah, the other one was longer, but my stupid computer had to be stupid and delete everything that I had wrote. I'm really sorry about the shortness of these chapters as of late, but here you go. Hope you liked it. :D  
**Lloyd:** Review?_


	27. Going to Tethe'alla

**Ch. 27: Going to Tethe'alla**

_**Young: **So...yeah..I'm kind of liking this story at the moment. Things kind of verged away from the actual game for a second there. But soon enough, things will go back to the way they were, until we get to Sybak of course. No, they'll change at the castle too. Hm...maybe the updates _will_ keep going the way they are.  
__**Lloyd:** Knowing you, they probably won't.  
__**Me:** Oh shut up Lloyd.  
**Lloyd:** ...  
**Me:** Well, aren't you going to disclaim me?  
**Lloyd:** ...-hands piece of paper-  
**Me:** -reading- Young doesn't own ToS or Namco. Okay then, I guess that works. Onward, to Tethe'alla! _

* * *

Lloyd chuckled nervously, one of his hands itching to rub the back of his head as he always did when he got nervous. However, because of the ropes currently constricting around his waist, he couldn't move his arms, "A-and what kind of questions would those be...?" He questioned, the tremor in his voice obvious.

Raine crossed her arms, standing and moving to where she could clearly see the crystal on the back of his neck, "First off, I'd like to know where that gem came from." The question came out as more of an angry growl than anything.

_'Guess I must've done something after I blacked out..._' Lloyd thought in his head, eyes narrowing as he tried to remember where it (the crystal) came from, "Well, you see, the thing is...I don't really know. It was just kind of..there. I noticed it at the Temple of Light, but I never really thought about where it came from." A nervous chuckle emitted from his mouth again, showing that he was anxious to hear what happened when he went unconcious. And on top of that, where were they? The bed he was laying on was covered in a purple sheet with purple blankets. The walls that surrounded them were kind of an off white to yellow color.

"I see...and how come you didn't tell us about this?"

"I thought...well, because we were on a journey to save the world and stuff, I thought it wouldn't be that important. It seemed harmless at the time. Anyways, why are you asking me all this? Did something happen after I passed out?" The twin swordsman then noticed that the others were also watching him curiously. Genis sat off to his left side, looking at his feet. Sheena eyed him warily from the center of the room, and in the corner floated Colette.

"You kind of, um...attacked us." It was Genis who spoke up this time, looking up at Lloyd sheepishly.

"What? Why would I do that? You guys know I'm your friend. I wouldn't suddenly just turn on you like..." His voice faded at the thought of Kratos. His father, his friend, and his companion. Why had he betrayed them? Then again, he said it himself, he was an angel that worked under Yggdrasil. Had even called Yggdrasil 'Lord'. He shuddered violently, trying to shake the memory of the angel.

"Well, we couldn't be sure, after what happened with..well, you get the idea." Sheena uncrossed her arms and turned to Raine with a questioning stare, "Do you think we could untie him now or do you want to wait?"

Just then some soldiers came in, Lloyd guessed they were the ones who'd saved them from the tower. They told the group that their lord was ready to see them now. Lloyd, who still couldn't stand because he was tied up, watched as the others left the room, excluding Colette, who stood lifeless off to the side.

Speaking of which, that made him question something, why was Colette here? Weren't they going to take her to do some kind of ritual or something? He shook his head, deciding to ask later and act now. Making a futile attempt to stand, he managed to work at the ropes until his arms were free. He stood and grabbed Colette's hand warily, hoping that she wouldn't mind and pulled her out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Ah..and here he is now. We were just discussing you, Lloyd." A blue haired man said from the center of the room.

Lloyd gasped, "You! You're...Yuan, right? What the hell are you doing here...?" He then took the moment to look around. They were standing in the room in which he had first met the Renegade Leader. Back before they had gone to the Temple of Fire, before Kratos had betrayed them.

"Yes, I am Yuan, Leader of the Renegades. And your friends and I were just discussing the crystal placed on the back of your neck. Sound familiar?" The half-elf smirked before turning to Botta, "No matter, we shall get what we want," He paused, turning back to Lloyd, "and what we want is you Lloyd." The Renegades that had been standing calmly off to the side began to close in around them, swords at the ready.

"What do you mean?" Raine glared. Though she had been threatening her student just a minute ago, Lloyd was surpirsed to see her step in front of him, blue eyes narrowed.

Yuan's only answer was to pull out his weapon and glare. Sheena nudged Raine, muttering something to her. The white haired teacher nodded in reply and quickly glanced at Lloyd, who got the idea and grabbed Colette's hand. In a split second, the group had been standing on one place before a wall of mist was thrown up between them and the Renegades. When the air cleared, they were gone.

xXx

"So where in the world are we gonna go?" Lloyd questioned as they half walked, half sprinted down the maze of hallways. His wounds were still sore, but were healing at a surprisingly fast rate. Sheena kept staring at him like he was going to turn on them any minute. What he'd done must've been really bad.

"Well..." Raine started, but then looked confused, what _were _they going to do?

"We could go to Tethe'alla. The Renegades are the ones who told us about Sylvarant and provided me with the transportation in order to get here." Sheena suggested, taking her eyes off of Lloyd and looking at Raine, who was pondering their options, "Its either that or we fight our way to the exit. But what are you going to do then? People will wonder what's wrong with Colette." She also had to go back to Tethe'alla and report to her chief.

Lloyd nodded in response, "That's a good idea. Tethe'alla is also more advanced than Sylvarant, right? So maybe they could help us find a way to save her." Even though he was worried about what he would do if they came into contact with Yggdrasil again, Lloyd thought that Colette was more important than himself.

"Hm..." Raine murmured, hand on her chin.

"I think we should go." Genis piped up, eyes wide and nervous. He was looking around the room like Renegades were going to come out of no where any moment. Lloyd watched him for a moment before looking back to Raine to see if she'd made up her mind.

"I agree. It seems like our best and only option."

"Wait...before we go, can I ask something?" Lloyd questioned curiously. Raine stared at him and he guessed that he was okay to continue, "What were they talking about in there?"

"Basically the Desians all work for Cruxis, and the Renegades are trying to stop both of them. The leader of Cruxis is Yggdrasil and under him are the Four Seraphim, including...Kratos." Sheena stated bluntly, and began walking. Lloyd followed behind, but something was still bugging him. Yuan had said they were discussing the crystal on the back of his neck, but never explained it to him.

"So...what did he say about me..?"

"The gem on your neck is called the Star Crystal. It's controlled by the amount of mana one places into it. That's all that they said they knew at the time, but they said they were going to look into it some more." Raine spoke in a casual tone as the group broke into a run.

"What are we searching for exactly?" Genis asked, cautiously changing the subject.

"There should be a hanger around here somew- aha! Here it is!" Sheena said, pushing a couple buttons on a keypad near the door, which slid open smoothly and quietly, "Now we just do this," She pushed a couple more buttons on a monitor, "and they should come up here." The floor in the middle of the room opened and four multi-colored flying machines rose up on a platform.

"Woah..." Lloyd and Genis muttered at the same time.

"These are the Rheairds. I took one of these over here." She walked over and examined them for a moment before jumping on one and turning back to the group, "C'mon! Do you wanna see a different world or not?" She really just wanted to get out of there. If Yuan found out they'd stolen the Rheairds he would be furious. He probably already knew.

Lloyd and others jumped on each, the teen taking the red one. Colette road with Raine, who had taken a blue one. Genis took the green and Sheena had the purple. Lloyd twisted one of the handles and the machine purred to life.

"This is so cool!" Genis shouted happily, a big grin on his face. Sheena gunned hers forward and the rest followed after and they were off.

xXx

Lloyd's Rehaird shuddered as if it were going to die, and he glanced down at the screen just below the handles. The gas gauge was on empty, "Um..guys?" He looked up, eyes wide and worried. Genis turned back and met him with the same expression.

They were out of gas.

* * *

_**Me:** So..how was it?  
**Lloyd:** It was okay. Kind of a crappy ending though.  
**Me:** Yeah, sorry about that. Anyways, review, okay? Thank you! :D_


	28. This Love, This Hate

**Ch. 28: This Love, This Hate**

_**Young:** Yo dudes, what's up? I'm like, tired as monkey's right now because I haven't been sleeping that well, but no matter, I SHALL TYPE! -strikes heroic pose-  
__**Lloyd:** You're a very strange person, you know that?  
__**Me:** I know, I know. I thank you for teh compliment. Anyways, DISCLAIMER PLEASE!  
__**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco, thank you very much.  
__**Me**: ONTO LE STORY!_

* * *

Lloyd grimaced as he stood and examined the area of there crash. Said crash had thrown him a good distance from his Rheaird, and he was pretty sure that they were currently on the top of some kind of mountain. He looked around at his friends, noting that none were injured. Minus a couple of scrapes and bruises, of course.

"Lloyd, are you okay?" Raine called out from behind a purple Rheaird. It had nearly landed on top of her, but she had miraculously come out unharmed. She had her staff out, prepared to heal anyone if need be.

"I'm fine. How is everyone else?" Lloyd shouted back, walking over with stiff legs to where the half-elf was standing. He looked her over, now that they were closer, and noticed a couple scratches and a gash on her leg, "Is your leg okay?"

"Yes...it's fine." Raine said, examining the wound. She pushed away from the Rheaird and half-walked, half-limped over to the other group members. They all seemed to be okay.

Lloyd turned away from Raine and went over to Sheena, "Are you alright?" He questioned, looking the ninja over.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sheena nodded to Lloyd.

"Where should we go from here?" He asked as they were joined by the rest of the group. Colette was the only one who was virtually unharmed, and her wings were out, '_She must've flown off the Rheaird before it crashed.' _Lloyd thought to himself as Sheena responded.

"Meltokio would be our best option. It's a city not that far from here, and that's also where the king is." Sheena suggested. She needed to go back to Mizuho and talk to the Chief, but the least she could do was lead the group to the city before she had to go.

"Alright then, let's go!" Lloyd said, leading the group down the beaten mountain path. After a moment, he turned back to Sheena, "Actually...maybe you should lead...I kind of don't know where we're going."

Sheena huffed and then walked up next to Lloyd, crossing her arms, "Well then don't take the lead if you don't know where you're going, idiot!" Her tone was teasing as she lead the group down the mountain.

**xXx**

They had stopped down at the bottom of the mountain because it had taken them so long to get down. It was quickly growing late, so Raine suggested that they make camp and continue on later. The rest of the group gladly agreed, for they were all tired and frustrated with the rocky mountain path.

"Lloyd, are you hungry?" Genis asked, tilting his head and extending a bowl of soup towards the brunette.

"No, sorry Genis. I don't think I can eat right now." He turned from the group and went over to his sleeping bag, laying down and closing his eyes. Every time he closed them, though, he would see the face of Kratos, glaring at him with his wine red eyes. His eyes shot open again and he sighed, he'd hoped to at least try to get some sleep tonight.

At some point during the night, after everyone had already gone to bed, Lloyd had managed to fall into a troubled sleep. It was the first time he had slept in months.

**-Dream-**

_"Daddy...?" A three year old Lloyd sat in front of the campfire, staring up at his dad who sat next to Anna. His father grunted in response, showing that he was listening, "You won't weave me and mommy, will you?"_

_"Of course your father wouldn't leave us, Lloyd." His mother smiled, leaning her head on Kratos' shoulder._

_"Okay..."_

**-End Dream-**

Lloyd shot up, a cold sweat on his body, but a burning hate in his stomach. No, he could never forgive Kratos for what he did. He betrayed them, betrayed Lloyd. He had tried to _kill _Lloyd for Martel's sake!

"Lloyd...? What are you doing up?" A voice called from across the campsite.

"I just...had a dream. Go back to sleep, Sheena." He responded, laying back down himself. He heard her sleeping bag shift as she laid back down and went to sleep. He sighed, rolled over, and tried to get back to sleep before the night would end.

* * *

_We once also had a story too,_  
_You can see that good men only come in few._  
_Even in our greatest moments we may win or we may lose_  
_Every song's got it's rules, you've got to learn to make it through._  
_Maybe one day we can choose how it feels to be a woman or a man_  
_Without rules but burried underneath there's a picture glued._  
_So when my body burns in ashes only sing the truth_  
_Let these words strengthen all your views_  
_Because these words were meant for you  
_ **_ -This Love, This Hate by Hollywood Undead_**

**_Me: _**_So yeah...I wanted to include some song lyrics at the end because when I was writing this I was listening to that song and...yeah...xD Lolz. I'm weird, I know. But I hope you liked it. I know that it's really really really short, but I've had two relatives die in two weeks, my dad's car broke down, and then I'm not feeling well..so yeah..sorry.  
**Lloyd:** It's okay.  
**Me:** Mmhm. Review? _


	29. Meltokio

**Ch. 29: Meltokio**

_**Young: **Hello again. :) Once again, i'm really tired, but on the other hand, I have my ToS game again and I'm done with school so...yeah...it's good news. What's up with you guys?  
**Lloyd:** I'm excited for this story. However, because you are so tired, I remain unable to express my excitement.  
**Me:** Ah..makes sense. Disclaimer?  
__**Lloyd:** Sure. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto the story...or something like that._

* * *

Lloyd awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed for some reason. His mind was strangely at ease, and he even felt a small flare of excitement breeding in his chest. They were going to Meltokio today, and according to Sheena, it was one of the biggest cities in Tethe'alla. He rolled up his sleeping bag and strapped it to Noishe's side.

"Hey Lloyd! Sleep good last night?" Genis questioned brightly as he walked over to Noishe and Lloyd and strapped his own sleep bag to the "dog".

"It was...okay. I actually slept, that's an improvement. How about you?"

"Genis, Lloyd! C'mon, we've gotta get moving." Raine called, strapping a bag full of supplies and other things on her back. She motioned for Lloyd to come over and said to him as he approached, "I want you to watch Colette today, alright?"

They had all decided to take turns to watch Colette as they traveled with the hopes that she might go back to normal. They all knew that it was highly unlikely, but still clung on to the small hope.

Lloyd nodded, showing that he had heard, and took the place next to Colette. He waved and smiled, hoping for a reaction, but her soulless red eyes just stared blankly ahead, awaiting their next action. He sighed and began to walk, following the others.

Sheena was in the lead, followed by Colette and Lloyd, then Raine and Genis. It was the battle formation they took up. Whoever was watching Colette would stand next to her and keep an eye on her during battle, the other "frontiersman" would be at the front of the formation, and the two magic casters would be at the back. Usually Sheena and Lloyd were the ones to watch the soulless angel.

"Watch out guys, monsters approaching!" Sheena shouted from the front, immediately pulling out her cards and charging the monsters. Lloyd responded by pulling out his swords, and charging after her. He noted that Colette had followed him, fighting off monsters from a distance with her chakrams. Genis and Raine began to cast from the back.

The battle lasted only a couple of minutes, and Lloyd found that he had moved much quicker than before. The openings in the monsters' defenses had become easier to see. Maybe it had something to do with the crystal. Shaking his head, he jogged to keep up with the retreating backs of his fellow party members.

"You've gotten stronger, Lloyd." Genis commented as the walked. They had exited the mountains a while ago and now were walking in the open. That fact alone made Lloyd extremely uncomfortable. They could be attacked at any moment.

"Really...?" Lloyd responded distantly. He was more focused on the fact that the mana had risen quite high since he'd last noticed. He'd been more preoccupied with other things when they'd first got here, and never really thought of it until now. It was an amazing feeling, to feel the life of the planet pulsing around him.

"Lloyd, look! I can see the city from here!" Genis was shouting now, pointing towards a distant, rather bumpy shape that had appeared on the horizon.

"The larger shape towards the back is the castle. That's were the king resides." Sheena commented, pointing towards a larger shape that outlined the city below it, "That is also where we must go to talk to him. If you were amazed by it from this far, wait until you actually get inside the place."

This only seemed to increase Genis' excitement, for he grinned wide and began to walk a bit faster, "I can't 'till we get there."

"Neither can I." Lloyd grinned to, feeling a bit better now that they began to walk through some trees. It was a thin forest, but a forest none the less. It provided cover from unwanted eyes. A good example of unwanted eyes? Angels of Cruxis. He never wanted to come into contact with those guys again, lest he loose control of himself.

"I wonder if they have a library there..." Raine mused, placing hand on her chin.

Sheena nodded enthusiastically, "A big one, in the castle. Although, I don't guarantee that you'll get to look around in it unless you get permission from the king. Also, they have a research facility there. I go there a lot."

"Ah...I'd like to go to this...facility. And perhaps visit this library sometime. I must have a talk with your king." Raine's eyes had a mischievous glint to them.

"Please don't blow anything up, sis. I don't want to have to get kicked out of there." Genis chuckled.

"How would she manage to blow something up in a library with basically no explosives?" Lloyd questioned, tilting his head. Genis laughed this time, placing his hands behind his head.

"Simple, because she's Raine." The smaller half-elf received a smack to the head for that comment. Raine glared at him for a moment before looking up as Sheena called,

"We're here!"

The group approached the large gates to the city with wide eyes. The gates themselves stood almost as tall as the Tower of Mana. They towered over the small group of travelers, the designs engraved in them only furthering their curiosity towards the city. Two guards stood at the door, their spears blocking the way. Lloyd watched as their eyes tracked the groups movements, watching them to make sure they wouldn't do anything "funny".

"We'd like to go in, please." Sheena said, pulling papers out of her pockets and showing them to the guards, who, in reply, nodded and moved their weapons. Sheena looked back to the group with a grin before pushing open the ginormous doors and revealing a street with buildings lining it that weren't much smaller than the doors. To the left was an item shop and a few houses, and to the right seemed to be the slums of the city.

"Wow..." Genis breathed, awed by the sheer size of the lower class district.

"I must be leaving you now." Sheena broke in, turning around to face the group, "I've got to go report to my chief. I'm sorry that I couldn't show you around more, but if you follow these stairs they'll lead you to the castle," She motioned towards the stairway behind her, "Here is a letter to the King. That should explain everything that's happened up until now."

"What about Colette? Surely they won't let her live. After all, she is the savior of the dying world." Raine stated, crossing her arms.

"I've already explained that in this letter. It should take care of all the loose ends, even you, Lloyd. I wish you all the best of luck and I hope that we can meet again soon." Sheena bowed slightly, handing the letter to Lloyd before walking past them. The sight of her retreating back made Lloyd sad for some reason. He would really miss having the ninja fight with them.

"Let's go guys!" Genis exclaimed excitedly. Truthfully he only wanted to explore the city, which he was sure he would be able to do after they met with the king.

A soft barking made the group turn their heads. A dog was running towards Colette, barking happily and wagging it's tail. On any normal occasion, Colette would've bent down and petted its head, naming it something like "Spot" before turning to the group to say how cute it was, acting as if they hadn't seen it. However, this wasn't a normal circumstance. Instead of petting it, Colette stared at it for a moment with blank eyes before delivering a kick to it's stomach and walking away.

Lloyd chuckled nervously, "She used to love dogs."

Just then a man appeared seemingly out of no where. Said man stared directly at Lloyd for a little before moving past him, muttering, "What an interesting group of people." Then, he was gone.

"C'mon, Lloyd, we've got to get moving." Genis called as he followed after Raine and Colette.

The brunette nodded and jogged to catch up with them, briefly wondering why no one else noticed the man. Shrugging, he walked next to Genis, examining the area around them. People strolled about, chatting. Children ran up to their mothers, pulling them towards the various shops that lined the streets. He chuckled, remembering his hometown, Iselia.

"Watch where you're going!" A nasally voice shouted.

Lloyd immediately looked in the direction of it, a hand on his sword. Colette had bumped into some girl. Said girl was surrounded by a bunch of other woman, and one man, who stepped forward as well, his abnormally long red hair swishing behind him.

"Now now, my honey, don't get upset. I'm sure this cute little angel here didn't mean to."

"Lord Zelos!" A blonde shouted, smiling.

"Excuse me, but we need to get through." Raine stated, crossing her arms.

The girl that Colette had bumped into scoffed, "How dare such a peasant speak to Lord Zelos! What a hag."

Zelos moved to block the girls from going at it, thus stepping closer to Colette, when he felt a hand on his arm. Glancing down, he saw the twin swordsman glaring at him, his eyes a murky red color, "Woah! Hold on a sec, I was just gonna-"

"I believe she said that we need to get through." Lloyd growled, not knowing what had come over him, but a small pain had erupted from the back of his neck right before he lost control. Something had moved his limbs without his commands, and it scared him.

"Alright, alright. Sorry." Zelos put his hands up and backed away, "Come ladies, let us continue." He motioned for the girls to follow, and they willingly did, squealing the whole time.

"What an ass." Genis huffed.

"Genis! Watch your language!" Raine shouted, smacking her brother's head lightly.

"Sorry, sis."

"So I'm assuming that that big building over there is the castle." Lloyd said, staring up at the literally gigantic building that loomed over them. Just up the stairs in front of it stood a pair of guards, who watched the group with their gaze, "I don't think those guards will let us through."

"Hmm, I suppose not." Raine agreed, "We could try, though."

The group, having all silently agreed to try going through the doors, began to walk through the crowd towards the castle. Something made Lloyd stop, however, and he looked towards a smaller building next to the castle. A small girl was exiting, her pink pigtails bouncing as she lugged a large log behind her.

"Wait, guys, look at that."

The rest of the group turned, seeing the girl as well.

"She's...kinda cute." Lloyd thought he heard Genis say.

"Maybe we could use her." Lloyd suggested, watching as a man walked up to her, spoke to her for a moment, before walking away again. His mind traveled back to the strange guy from earlier. What had he meant by "an interesting group of people"?

"Hurry up, Lloyd, or we're gonna leave you behind!" Genis stood a few feet in front of Lloyd, staring him in the eyes, "We've decided to ask that girl."

Lloyd nodded, and followed after the group.

* * *

_**Me:** So...how was it? Half of this I wrote at like...three in the morning, so...yeah. xD I hope you enjoyed it and stuff.  
**Lloyd:** I know I did. I was excited for it.  
**Me:** So anyways, press that button. The one that's over there and says "review", okay? Thanks in advance. _


	30. The Castle

**Ch. 30: The Castle**

_**Young:** So..yeah, I don't remember if this update is late or not, but if it is, I'm sorry. I've kinda lost track of time ever since summer started, not to mention I've been barely sleeping anymore cuz I like to stay up late and stuff. xD_  
_**Lloyd:** You could at least have the decency to type while you're up so late._  
_**Me:** Yeah...sorry about that. But anyways, this chapter was really hard to do for some reason, I don't know why, but that's why its kind of late. Moving on, disclaim me please, Lloyd._  
_**Lloyd:** 'Kay. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco. _  
_**Me:** Onto le story! :D_

* * *

"So...you see, we need your help to get in there so we can save our friend." Genis mumbled, rubbing the back of his head and feeling his cheeks heat up. Lloyd chuckled, watching his friends reaction towards the pink haired girl. Perhaps someone had a crush.

"Very well." The girl spoke, turning and walking towards the castle stairs, leaving the big log behind her, "Please carry that." Was all she said to them as she headed in the direction of the stairs.

Lloyd immediately stepped forward and lifted the log from one side, noting that it felt lighter than he thought it would be. Originally, when he'd first seen it, he thought it would weigh more than himself, but now that he was actually holding it, he found he could move it easily. He began to drag it towards the stairs, hearing the group uneasily shuffle after him.

"Do you want some help, Lloyd?" Genis asked quietly, wondering how Lloyd was managing this without using the handle that the girl had used.

"Nope. Thank you, though, for the offer." Lloyd grunted, lifting the wood onto the staircase. The girl waited patiently at the top, staring down at the angel with a blank expression. She'd had that same expression on her face the whole time, and it was starting to worry Lloyd. This girl looked just like Colette at the moment.

"Who're these people?" One of the guards questioned suspiciously as Lloyd and the rest of the group reached the top of the stairs.

"They're helping me. Today is...special." The pink haired girl stated monotonously, her eyes never once leaving the guards. Said guard seemed to stiffen, as if he were scared of the girl, but then nodded slowly, motioning for them to go through.

As they passed between the guards and into the castle, Lloyd heard the other mutter something.

"Are you sure this is okay?" The second guard inquired, nodding towards the people walking through the doors.

"Well, if Presea says it is, then it must be. I mean, she rarely ever speaks so..." The second nodded to this response and stared back out towards the crowded streets.

"So what do we do with this?" Lloyd asked once they got inside. The log had been a hell of a job to get inside, considering it was hard to maneuver between two big burly men, but somehow he'd managed. He set it carefully down against the wall, watching it to make sure it would stay that way.

"We leave it here." Presea responded, watching Lloyd curiously.

"Okay then, so now we go to the king, right?" Genis asked, putting his arms behind his head and staring at Presea, wondering what they were going to do with her.

"Presea, right?" Raine questioned, a hand on her chin. She received a small nod in reply, "Would you mind coming with us through here? It would seem suspicious if you were just to leave by yourself." The girl once again nodded turning towards the pathway on the left.

With that settled, they set off in the direction of the kings room. They wandered for a while, wondering where they were going, before they had actually found a staircase that actually looked like it might lead to the kings bedroom.

"C'mon, guys! I'm sure this is the one!" Lloyd shouted excitedly, briefly wondering why in Martel's name he was the leading the group. As if he'd read his thoughts, Genis responded.

"Because you seemed so eager to lead us." The half-elf grinned, chuckling a little bit. He was walking next to Presea, who stared ahead blankly. A couple times he'd tried to spark a conversation, but she usually either didn't reply, or just said one or two words in response. Genis sighed, glancing around the castle. It really was a big palace. Then again, most palaces _were _big.

Once they'd reached the end of the stairway, Lloyd pointed out the guard standing in front of the door in the middle of the landing. Casually, he strolled up, Raine standing behind him and Colette, Genis and Presea trailing at the end. The half-elf stopped next to Lloyd, tilting her head towards the guard.

"What business do you have here?" The guard questioned, shifting the weapon in his hand and eyeing the group cautiously.

"We would like to see the king, if you don't mind." Raine stated dryly, knowing that this was most likely not going to work.

"You should know that the king is sick, and is not seeing anyone at this time."

"It's important, we were asked to aid with the prayer preparations." Lloyd crossed his arms, hoping that the guard would believe them and let them pass. But of course, he didn't and instead, turned and opened the doors. With a growl, Lloyd hit him in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out, "Sorry about that.." He murmured as they walked into the room.

When they walked in, they were immediately spotted by a man dressed in holy garb, "What's going on?" He shouted, eyes narrowing as he backed up and glared at them.

A familiar red head turned around, recognizing the group instantly, "Oh, its you people."

"Chosen! You know these people?" The man, who Lloyd now noticed was probably the Pope, questioned, glaring at Zelos who shrugged lightly and chuckled.

"Sorta."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're the _Chosen_?" Genis yelled, confused. If this guy was the Chosen, then Tethe'alla was thoroughly doomed. How could anyone call this dumb guy the Chosen? Not to mention he was a complete asshole. He snorted, holding back laughter.

Raine, on the other hand, held her composure and calmly stated, "You're Tethe'alla's Chosen, then."

"What do you mean Tethe'alla's?" Zelos asked, eyes narrowing in thought.

The Pope chose this time to speak up, nostrils flaring in anger, "Does that mean you're from...Sylvarant?" Not only were these people intruders, but they were also from the declining world? His thoughts immediately went to the idea that they were trying to kill their Chosen so Sylvarant could be saved.

"You all are from the declining world?" A girl who Lloyd hadn't noticed before stepped out from the shadows. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a fancy dress. The brunette figured that this girl was probably the princess or something, considering the way Zelos and the other pastors in the room shifted just enough to block her from view.

"Have no fear, Princess. What is your name?" Zelos questioned, one hand placed on his sword.

"My name is Lloyd, and we've come to deliver a letter to the King from Sheena, of Mizuho." The angel also had a hand on his sword, just in case they attacked. He reached into his pocket and held out the piece of paper that Sheena had given to them before she left.

"Sheena?" A quiet voice called from behind the crowd of people. The separated to reveal a man in his night clothes who looked like he was going to keel over then and there. His eyes were ringed with dark circles, and he was leaning on a walking stick.

"Your majesty, you mustn't be up! Do not worry, we will take care of these mongrels." The Pope spoke, reaching a hand for the King. The King, however, smacked it a way with a grumble and reached a hand out for the paper.

"Nonsense! Lloyd...please give me the letter."

Lloyd stepped forward cautiously, eyes on the Pope and Zelos who stood side by side now. He could sense them tense up as he handed the letter over to the King, and shook his head lightly, hoping that this would work. Walking back to the group, he made sure to never let his guard down.

"I will read this. Pastor, take them to the other room for a while." A man nodded and walked over to them, motioning for them to follow.

Lloyd sat down on the bed that was against one of the walls, sighing, "How are we so sure this is going to work?" He asked, not really expecting an answer. A small flame of excitement bubbled in his stomach, and he wondered what would happen if they actually accepted the deal, "And what is taking them so long?"

"They might be preparing to kill us. To them, Colette is a threat that needs to be taken care of." Raine stated, crossing her arms and thinking, "And they don't really know you, so they have no reason to help."

"Jeez sis, could you be a little more harsh?"

Lloyd ignored them and continued, "What will happen to Presea, then? She's not from Sylvarant and she didn't really do anything wrong. It wouldn't be fair if they tried to kill her as well." He stared at the girl for a moment. She was standing in the corner, eyes staring blankly at the red wallpaper. There had to be something wrong with her. Perhaps it was Cruxis' doing?

"We have to find a way for her to escape-"

Just then the Pope walked in, surrounded by guards and followed by Zelos, who had a hand resting on his partially drawn sword. The guards tensed, weapons at the ready, "Sorry to keep you waiting, travelers from Sylvarant." The man stated, beady eyes glaring holes into the group.

"So you've read the letter?" Lloyd stood, tense and ready for anything.

"Basically, you want us to try and help you and the Chosen from your world, when we don't know who you guys are." Zelos stated, crossing his arms, though he still looked like he was prepared for a fight.

"However, keeping the Chosen alive would threaten the careful balance that our world hangs in." The Pope eyed them warily, and then without a second thought, pointed at Colette, shouting, "Kill her!"

"Wait, please, listen!" Genis shouted, eyes wide. The guards were already moving towards the blonde angel, weapons at the ready.

Just then, a blur of read streamed across the room, and suddenly both guards were on the ground, bleeding from stab wounds. Lloyd stood next to Colette, swords out, eyes blood red, and wings flaring behind him.

"You will not touch the Chosen." He stated, voice dangerously low, almost in a growl.

"See? I told you, there's something wrong with that kid. He's a dangerous foe, especially since he's also an angel." Zelos stated, arms crossed and a knowing look on his face. He smirked, watching the Pope's shocked expression turn to pure fury. The man had begun to sweat.

"Dammit, this one is an angel too?" The Pope cursed.

Raine stared at Lloyd with wide eyes. What was becoming of her student? Shaking her head lightly, she stepped forward and suggested, "What if we make a deal?" The whole chaos that had snatched hold of the room immediately dispersed.

"What do you mean?" The brown haired man asked suspiciously, taking a step closer to Zelos as if the red head would provide some form of protection. He eyed Lloyd warily, not knowing what the teen would do next.

"Yes, Colette lost her soul because she was becoming an angel in order to save Sylvarant. If she doesn't become an angel, then our world will not be saved." Raine took another step forward, extending an arm and warily placing it on Lloyd's shoulder, "Are you okay..?" She questioned quietly.

"Ugh...my head hurts, but yeah, I'm fine. What happened?" The twin swordsman turned to face her, all the red that had been in his eyes gone. His wings were still out, however. The half-elf in front of him shook her head, a sign that she would probably tell him later.

"That would mean abandoning Sylvarant."

"I don't care."

"Sis! How could you say that?" Genis called, scooting towards Raine. She would really abandon Sylvarant? Of course Colette was important, but...still.

"I agree." Lloyd said calmly, turning back towards the Pope and Zelos, who were staring at him with wide eyes. He must have done something bad enough to scare them. Then he saw the bodies of the guards on the ground and gagged. Was that what he'd done? _'If this keeps up, I won't be able to stay by them. It wouldn't be safe.' _He thought to himself, before tuning back into the conversation.

"Is there disagreement?"

"No, we'll do it." Lloyd replied, determination on his face.

"Say, Pope, these people could try to go back to their home world at any time, so maybe I should go along with them, just to keep tabs." Zelos suggested, uncrossing his arms and staring directly at Lloyd. This kid really was interesting. He'd have to ask _them _later about him.

"If you insist, Chosen One, you may go with them." The Pope then, with one last look over the group, exited the room, muttering to Zelos on his way out, "Make sure they do not do anything suspicious." With that, he was gone, the door swinging shut behind him.

"So you help us?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head and removing his hand from his swords. Perhaps these people were trustworthy. Well, it didn't matter, as long as they fixed Colette up. The brunette wasn't worried about himself, that could come later.

"We'll do what we can. I swear on my name as Zelos, the Chosen."

"Alright." Raine said, finally letting the tension leave her body.

"Then it's settled! I'm gonna go get ready, okay? Meet me in the chapel when you're ready to go." The red head winked at them before turning and leaving the room as well.

"What an idiot." Genis commented with a sigh. The rest of the group agreed, aside from Presea and Colette, who both stood off to the side, their expressions creepily similar.

* * *

_**Me: **You know what I just realized? I have thirty chapters done so far! OwO I'm so proud of myself. This is my longest fanfiction ever, and by far the one with the most reviews. I just wanna take this time to thank all of you who have stayed with this story since the beginning! You are the people I anxiously wait for to read your reviews! Thank you so much!  
**Lloyd:** Yeah..thanks..and stuff...  
**Me:** Anyways, review? Thanks for readin'! _


	31. A Nightmare In Meltokio

**Ch. 31: A Nightmare In Meltokio**

_**Young: **I've been thinking about this one for a while, so I hope what I write sounds good. xD You ever get those times where it sounds perfect in your head and then when you write it, it sounds like crap? That happens to me all the time. .  
**Lloyd:** Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be okay.  
**Me:** Since when have you been so consoling?  
**Lloyd:** Since I learned that the world would be a better place if we were all nicer to each other.  
_-silence-_  
**Me:** ANYWAYS, disclaimer?  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** TO LE STORY!_

* * *

Lloyd followed the others out of the castle, not really paying attention to where they were going. The fact that he could lose control at any moment utterly horrified him. It literally felt as if he had the devil himself lying in wait in the outer reaches of his mind, and if he were to drop his guard even once, the being would pounce, destroying everything and everyone that he knows and loves. Shaking his head, he tried to push the negative thoughts out of his mind and focus on the positive.

They were finally getting somewhere with helping Colette, that was something, right? And the were getting access to a research lab, that would help. They would be able to find something, right? The teen growled, finding himself nearly drowning in all the negativity that lingered on his thoughts like syrup on your fingers after eating pancakes.

"Lloyd! Do you need anything while we're here?" Said brunette snapped out of his thoughts, finding Genis staring at him and gesturing towards the weapons that lined the walls. Oh...they were in a weapon shop. Glancing down at his old swords, Lloyd figured he could get some new ones of they had the money.

Striding over to the displayed weaponry, Lloyd tried to look for something that would fit in his hands. Picking up a pair of swords, he examined them distantly, thoughts still lingering elsewhere. It was only when he was prodded lightly on the shoulder that he was once again stolen from his train of thought.

"Can I help you, sir? Perhaps show you some of our customizing options?" A clerk asked, gesturing towards a burly man who stood next to a forge.

"Um, no thank you." Lloyd waved lightly, trying to get the stranger to go away. With a small nod, the worker went over to help the others in the store. Sighing, Lloyd placed the swords down and moved onto another pair. After a moment of looking at them and slashing at some invisible foe to test their weight, he nodded to himself and went over to where the others were.

"Are those the ones you want?" Raine asked, and, receiving a nod, looked towards the cashier, "How much for all of it, including the armor I requested?"

"About 40,000 gald, miss."

Raine took the appropriate amount out of their coin purse (which she handled, for fear of the others in the group doing something stupid with it, which they had tried to do before) and placed it on the counter, "There you go." With a polite goodbye to the salesman, she and the group exited the store. Genis seemed to bounce up and down with joy at his new weapon.

"Did you see it, sis? They had some really cool kendama's in there!" The half-elf grinned, pulling out his own weapon and showing it off to his sister, who just nodded and smiled. The older sibling looked back towards the street ahead of them, seeing a familiar redhead walking towards them.

"I thought you said you were going to wait for us in the chapel." She stated as he approached.

"I figured I might as well come and find you, considering it's already getting so late out. We should probably go to my place, we can stay there for the night." Zelos suggested, crossing his arms and chuckling at Genis' expression. The kid seemed upset that the redhead had intruded on their conversation. Jealous, much?

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Lloyd said, walking up next to Raine an stopping, having a momentary stare-down with Zelos, who, after a pause, laughed and turned, heading back towards the staircase.

And so it was decided, they were staying the night in Zelos' manor. When they arrived, Lloyd (and most of the others) gasped at the sheer size of it. They entered, being greeted by a butler who didn't question anything and stepped off to the side, watching them with half-lidded eyes. It looked as if he were squinting.

"So there are four rooms in total, including mine. One of you guys'll have to crash on the couch, unless you want to share a room." Zelos walked forward a little before turning around to face the group of people in the doorway, "Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourselves at home, but please take your shoes off before entering." With a chuckle, he went over to a couch and sat down.

"I think I am going to retire to my room." Raine stated, taking off her shoes and removing Colette's for her. The blonde Chosen hovered just above the ground, red eyes not moving from a spot on the wall. Her eyes never really moved from the position of staring forward, except when in battle. Then she came alive, well, almost. She basically just defended herself.

"I think I will too." Genis said with a yawn. Presea just nodded, as if saying that she were tired as well.

"I guess that leaves me with the couch, then, yeah?" Lloyd chuckled. It wasn't that he minded couches, in fact, they were often more comfortable then a bed, but he still wondered how it had been decided he would be stuck with said article of furniture.

The butler from earlier led them all up to their rooms, leaving Lloyd and Zelos sitting in an awkward silence on the various chairs and couches in the main room.

"So I guess that leaves you and me, eh bud?"

"I told you my name is Lloyd, not "Bud"." Lloyd growled lightly, a grin on his face. Not only was this man annoying, but he also had the worse choice of nicknames. I mean, come on, who would call the Professor of all people a "beautiful maiden"? To Lloyd, she was more like a banshee, waiting to attack all that come across her path, especially when she had an eraser in her hand. He rubbed his head, shivering at the memory.

"What's it like?"

The sudden question broke Lloyd from his reverie. Looking up at the Chosen, he tilted his head, "Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean that crystal thing. It's on your neck, right? What it's like?" The redhead had a serious expression on his face, and a curious glint in his eyes. This was the most serious Lloyd had ever seen him, then again, they'd only just met. Perhaps the Chosen had another side to himself that Lloyd didn't know about.

"It's...well, I don't know how to explain it considering I've never seen it, but I guess I'd say it feels kind of like an exsphere. The surface of it is hard, like a diamond." Lloyd explained, trying to think of a better way to describe it. By now, the sun had mostly gone down, and the butler was walking around the room and lighting candles to keep some light in the house.

"Ah...can I um, see it?"

This next question made Lloyd freeze. He'd never been asked by anyone to see it before, but then again, maybe Zelos could help him figure out why it was making him flip out all the time. With a small nod, Lloyd murmured, "Sure." He began unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it down just enough so that the base of his neck was revealed. Turning is back to Zelos, he heard the Chosen gasp and questioned in a panicked tone, "What?"

A gloved hand brushed over the top of the crystal, making Lloyd shudder. It pulled away briefly, before running a finger over the writing engraved into the crest that the gem was mounted on, "There's like, I don't know how to describe it, veins? Yeah, there's purple veins stretching out from it. It looks weird..." The redhead trailed, running his fingers over the vein-like things only to find that they actually rose up higher than the other parts of the skin.

By this time, Lloyd had begun to shiver, suddenly feeling very cold. He desperately wished that he could see what Zelos was seeing, and the fact that he couldn't only added to the panic and fear that were both slowly rising into his chest. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Are you done? I'm kind of cold..."

Zelos nodded, pulling away and going back to his seat on the opposite couch. Lloyd fixed his shirt, glad to have that _thing _covered up again. He shifted himself uncomfortably, no knowing what to talk about now. The redhead was staring at Lloyd like he was going to grow a third arm from his head, or something. The Chosen sighed, and stood.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go to bed for the night, 'Kay?" Stretching, Zelos winked at Lloyd before going up the stairs.

The brunette sighed, laying down on the couch and pulling one of the blankets that the butler, Sebastian was his name, had brought down from the linen closets upstairs. He sighed, contented in the warmth of the thick blankets. Perhaps tonight, he would get some good rest, but, as always, the universe had other plans for him.

xXxXx

_Lloyd awoke to pure darkness, not knowing which way was up, or down, for that matter. It felt as though he were floating in water, but that couldn't be the truth, for he was breathing, right? Something inside him jerked, and he felt himself being pulled down. The darkness seemed to come alive, writhing and grabbing at Lloyd's ankles._

_"Ah! What the hell?" The brunette gasped out, his screaming becoming muffled as something shoved its way into his mouth. The darkness had become a monster, wrapping itself around Lloyd and dragging him to...well, where? What was down below them? That thought alone made him struggle harder against the clutches of the mysterious creature that had a hold of him._

"Do not struggle, it will only make the pain worse for you." _A deep, almost demonic voice threatened._

_Lloyd found the tentacle that had been down his throat gone now, and he was able to freely speak again. Immediately his screaming started up again, and he fought against the clutches that dragged him down, "How am I not supposed to struggle?" _

"Let it enfold you, and there will be no pain. No worry. It will all be over, and you will not have to do anything else. No more suffering or betrayal." _The voice spoke again, sounding closer now. Lloyd realized that the thing that was speaking to him was down below. Something was coming over him, and he felt his eyelids becoming heavier. He was getting sleepy._

"Yes...sleep. Sleep and recover. Soon, it will all be over. Do not worry, you will not have to suffer for much longer." _The voice had begun to fade now, leaving Lloyd to a dead silence. His eyes were still slowly closing, breath evening out. _

_"Wait..." He mumbled tiredly, "Who are you?" _

"Lloyd! You mustn't listen! Do not fall asleep!" _Another voice now was shouting at him. This one seemed more, peaceful. Almost as if it was a woman. After pondering a moment in his tired mind, Lloyd vaguely recognized the voice as his mother's, _"My son, do not fall asleep! Please! Wake up!"

xXxXx

Lloyd awoke with a shout, shooting up and looking around warily. The sun was barely coming up from the horizon, shining it's morning rays in his eyes through the large windows. His eyes blinked, trying to remember exactly what it was he'd been dreaming, but every time he tried, he came up with nothing. Shrugging, he laid back down, asleep before he could even hear the dark chuckle that echoed throughout his slumbering mind.

* * *

_**Me:** So...how was it? I tried really hard to make the dream sequence good. I've suddenly had another idea for this story. Don't worry, though, it's still gonna focus on Lloyd and Kratos, but some other stuff's gonna happen as well. I'm gonna try to incorporate some more memories into it somewhere, but I'm still working on it. xD  
**Lloyd:** You should all review because this update is so early!  
**Me:** Oh yeah..it is, isn't it? Well, review, please? I love to get them! _


	32. The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge

**Ch. 32: The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge**

_**Young: **So what's up mah homies? Guess what! I started Driver's Training today. :D I don't think I'll fail too hard, but just to be sure, for those of you who live in Michigan, stay off the sidewalks. Lol, I'm lame, I know. Anyways, this update is kind of my birthday present to you guys. Cause July 12th (tomorrow) is my bday.  
**Lloyd:** Well happy birthday then. :D  
**Me:** Yup yup. So at 7:25 PM July 12th, I will be officially 15. I'm so old. T_T  
**Lloyd:** So moving on...Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** I don't. Isn't it sad? Onto the story. xD_

* * *

Lloyd sighed for the umpteenth time that day. No, he didn't keep count of his sighs. Why would he? Looking up at the bridge ahead of them, he almost sighed again, if it weren't for the dirty looks Raine kept shooting him. It wasn't like him to get down, but the fact that they actually had to _walk _across something so humongous that his mind couldn't fathom it nearly destroyed his positive attitude.

"Lloyd, why are you so down?" Genis asked as he walked next to the brunette, "Personally, I'm excited about this whole "Grand Tethe'alla Bridge" thing. Doesn't it sound cool?" The half-elf smiled widely, examining the bridge with a light in his eyes that nearly matched Raine's ruin mode. The older of the two Sage's was also staring at the bridge with interest, a hand on her chin as she walked.

"How long did you say it was, Zelos?" Raine questioned, looking at the redhead.

At this point, Lloyd tuned out of the conversation. He didn't want to hear how many lengths they would have to cross before they actually reached Sybak. That was, after all, where they were headed. Apparently the city had a great research center, but Lloyd wasn't going to believe anything until he saw it. He didn't quite trust Zelos yet.

The thought of the redhead nearly threw his mind back into the chaos that had occurred earlier this morning. With an effort, in his head, anyways, he pulled his thoughts away from that had focused on what they were going to do when they got to Sybak. He couldn't afford to think of himself, Colette was more important.

Said angel floated silently in front of Lloyd, next to Presea who was equally as quiet. The exact same expressions rested on the two girls faces, making Lloyd shiver and look away. He couldn't stand to see one person like that, and a second didn't help.

"So what's this research place like?" Lloyd questioned, intrigued.

"It's a really cool place, actually. I lent them my Cruxis Crystal a while back, so they could study it. It's got a lot of books and stuff, but they never usually let you see them, unless, of course, you get permission from me, or the king." The redhead smirked proudly, placing his hands on his hips and acting like he was important. Then again, he kind of was.

Raine looked up when Zelos started talking, eyes alight with the fire of a architect, "How old is it? Does it have any ruins on display?" She asked fervently, taking her hand from her chin and instead held her staff, which had previously rested on her back.

Lloyd sensed them too, and immediately pulled his swords from their sheath. Presea, who had been somehow managing to lug a big ax around, swung it onto her shoulder, examining what had become their battlefield. Colette silently moved to the back, ready to cast her angel skills, which she used more frequently now, ever since she lost her soul.

"I sense six enemies." The pink haired girl stated quietly before charging at an abnormally large grass hopper. Lloyd took this moment to release his wings and go at a wolf who'd been going for Colette. Even if she wasn't herself, even if she couldn't hear him, Lloyd would still protect Colette no matter what.

Zelos watched them all curiously as they fought. He could, no, _should _be doing something, but it seemed as if they could handle it. His eyebrows raised when he noticed the color of Lloyd's wings were no longer red, instead, they were a light blue, much like the color of the sky. The redhead unsheathed his sword and decided that he should go take care of the large ladybug that was attacking Raine, who was trying to cast.

Lloyd's mind traveled as he fought, his body and reflexes going on autopilot.

xXx

Lloyd woke up on the couch to find Zelos staring down at him, a grin on his face. The others stood behind him, all dressed and ready to go. With a grunt, the brunette pushed himself up off the couch and stood, nearly falling over as a strange dizziness overtook him. It took quite an effort to fix his balance, and he was left with a large headache.

"Are you alright Lloyd?" Raine asked, wanting to know if he needed healing or not.

"Yeah...'m fine." He mumbled, slipping on his jacket and boots before looking up at them. The dream floated into his mind, jarring him out of the calmness that had overtaken the room. His eyes widened, the images of the dream floating around his mind.

"Let's get going then." With that, they all left, Lloyd following behind slowly, mulling over the dream and what had happened with Zelos. What was that voice? And why had he heard his mother's voice? Was there some significance to it? He felt a poke on his shoulder and turned to see Zelos staring at him, worry in his eyes. Why would someone he didn't even know worry about him?

"Are you okay, bud?"

"For the last time, Zelos, my name is not 'bud'." Lloyd forced a chuckle, feeling a little better at the Chosen's worry.

"Okay then..."

xXx

Lloyd was pulled from his thoughts as the battle ended, carcasses of various monsters dispersing into the weird cloud of blood and mist as they always did. Brown eyes examined everyone, wondering if they were okay. They all seemed to be fine, and Lloyd let out a sigh of relief, putting his swords and his wings away.

"No one seems to be injured, so we should keep moving." Raine suggested, examining everyone just in case. When they all were clear, they continued, getting closer to the bridge. This brought Lloyd's mind back to it, and he growled.

"Stupid bridge."

"What was that, Lloyd?" Genis asked, tilting his head.

"Ah, nothing, nothing." The brunette laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he always did. It was more of a habit than anything. The small half-elf chuckled as well, having heard Lloyd's comment. Said twin swordsman smiled. It felt good to be laughing like this, and not worrying about how things were going to turn out in the future.

"You shouldn't think about things so much, it's not good for your brain. One day it might just die on you." Genis teased with a grin.

Lloyd, with a playful glare, gave his trademark shout, "Shut up, Genis!" They both broke into a fit of laughter, only stopping when Raine glared at them in warning. They were coming up on the bridge.

When they got there, Zelos ran ahead and turned around, a grin on his face, "Listen, and be amazed bumpkins! This is the biggest drawbridge in the world, and it connects the continents of Altamira and Fooji. It's operated system incorporates three thousand exspheres..." He trailed, watching their expressions change from awe to disgust.

"Three thousand human lives..." Lloyd felt tears form in the corner of his eyes and quickly wiped them away. Disgust and rage bubbled up inside him, making him hate Desians even more. His eyes flickered red, but he held it back, whatever it was, and watched the others reactions.

"What's with the long faces? Did something happen?" Zelos inquired, tilting his head. The expressions on everyone's faces was enough to tell him that something about the exspheres made them sad.

Raine spoke up, a solemn expression on her face, "I suppose we'd better tell you. Have you ever heard about how exspheres are made?" When she received a shake of the head, she continued, "They are made from human lives. When the exspheres are placed on the skin without a keycrest, they become parasites that feed of the humans life force."

Zelos' eyes widened for a brief moment before it changed to a look of understanding, "Is that really true?" Of course the Chosen knew it was true, who would lie about something like that? But still, he couldn't believe that humans would actually do something like that.

"You think we would make up something like that?" Lloyd growled, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, the exsphere on his hand glinting in the sunlight. There was a tint of purple in it, Zelos noted as he turned around and faced the bridge. He wouldn't say anything to the twin swordsman, though, the kid already had enough to worry about.

"Well, it's not like the dead are going to come back to life. It's better to look on the bright side of things." He stated, a frown on his face. It really was a sobering fact, but he couldn't dwell on such things now. After all, he had more important things to think of.

"Since were on the subject of exspheres," Genis started, curious, "does everyone in your world have one?" The half-elf could see that Lloyd had wanted to ask, but Genis asked first. His cheeks twitched up in a triumphant grin.

"Hum...nope. Not that I know of anyways. I got this from some people called the Renegades. Other than Presea over there, these are the only one's I've seen. Exspheres in this world are mostly used on machinery." The redhead began walking, the group following behind him slowly. The earlier conversation had ruined the mood that they all were in.

Presea stayed quiet, it was apparent that she didn't want to talk about the subject. Lloyd sympathized with her. It was like the crystal on his neck, he didn't want to talk about it. The subject always made him uncomfortable and self conscious.

And thus began their long trek across the bridge.

Lloyd nearly collapsed by the time they were halfway through. For being an angel, it sure was difficult to run in this weather. The sun was beating down on their backs, making them all sweaty and irritable. He sighed dramatically, brushing sweat from his brow, "Why can't we just have a Quick Jump option or something?"

Genis looked at him with a confused stare, "A what now?"

Lloyd shook his head, "Never mind."

* * *

_**Me:** So there you have it, and a day early too! I planned on putting it up on Tuesday, but yeah...I got excited. I'm really into this story now, for some reason. That's a plus for you guys though, cause you get earlier updates. :D Hope you enjoyed. Rev-  
**Lloyd:** Wait wait wait, you're forgetting something.  
**Me:** What would that be, Lloyd?  
**Lloyd:** You forgot to let me comment on the story!  
**Me:** Did it ever occur to you that I might not want you to comment?  
**Lloyd:** No, but-  
**Me:** Anyways, ignore Lloyd, and please review! :D Thanks for reading! _


	33. Sybak

**Ch. 33: Sybak**

_**Young: **-pats Lloyd's shoulder- I was quite mean in the last chapter, I apologize for that. But I was a bit angry cause my parents were fighting like they always did before something big happens (in this case; my birthday part).  
**Lloyd:** It's okay, I understand. :)  
**Me:** Okay, now that that's settled, for those of you that live in Michigan, have you heard that the homicide ratings in Detroit are now at 15%? Isn't that terrible? Not to harsh on Detroit, but seriously?  
**Lloyd:** Want me to disclaim you?  
**Me:** Yeah...I guess.  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto le story! :D _

* * *

Lloyd stared wide eyed at the vast city before them. It wasn't nearly as big as Meltokio, but the sheer amount of researchers wandering around and the huge library off to the right was enough to make it seem twice the size of the capital. He turned, noticing that the party had stopped and he'd walked further ahead of them. Presea was towards the back, frozen, a look of utter terror on her face.

"I...hate this city. Hurry, to Ozette." She murmured, voice barely audible.

"Wait just a little bit, then we'll be able to go there, okay, Presea?" Genis said, trying his best to reassure the girl. She nodded slowly, her face reverting back to being expressionless. Lloyd once again shivered at the similarities between Colette and Presea, making a mental note to try and find out if he could help the ax-wielder as well.

They continued on, the Sylvaranti all eyeing the city with awe. It was, after all, their first time in such an advanced setting. Machine's whirred, and people wandered about, checking over them. Students dressed in blue uniforms conversed about tests and exams coming up. Genis watched them for a moment, wondering if this place had an academy here as well.

Soon enough they reached a large building. More students were wandering around the courtyard, and one greeted them by the door as the entered. Lloyd stared at the one that had greeted them, not used to such treatment. Then he realized that the boy had probably only said that because Zelos was there. Shaking his head, he entered just as the researcher was leading them to the room where he would explain what was going on with Colette.

"Upon receiving the report on Colette's symptoms, we decided to focus our research on the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal. The information we gathered on it was rather helpful in our studies." The blonde researcher that had greeted them spoke from behind some machine. It suddenly lit up, revealing a holographic version of Zelos' Cruxis Crystal.

"Aha! So my crystal was helpful after all. When Colette returns to normal I'll have to make sure that she thanks me generously." Zelos winked, a goofy grin on his face. Lloyd half-glared at him, wondering just what the Chosen meant by that.

"Cruxis crystal's are thought to be evolved forms of exspheres. Both Cruxis crystal's and exspheres are lifeless beings." He started, only to be interrupted by Raine.

"W-what did you say?"

Lloyd looked at the half-elf with a confused look, "Lifeless what now?"

"How should I put it...? Basically, the exspheres are alive. Just not in the same way that we are. So what he's saying is that Cruxis crystals are the same as exspheres, both are lifeless beings." Raine received a nod from the researcher, telling her that she was correct. Lloyd looked down at his hand briefly, the dream popping into his mind again.

"Yes, both of these crystals are like parasites fusing with other life forms."

"Parasites...that's not a very pleasant thought." Lloyd mused.

"When this happens the mana within the body loses balance. Without a Key Crest, the mana in Colette's body will continue to go out of control." The group nodded simultaneously, all listening intently. Lloyd placed a hand on his chin, thinking. That meant that if they could make a Key Crest, the mana would be balanced, right? But they didn't have one...so that would mean going all the way back to Sylvarant.

"So that's why when people don't have Key Crest's on their exsphere's they turn into monsters." Genis stated, frowning slightly in thought. He was probably thinking the same thing Lloyd was. In fact, the twin swordsman was pretty sure that they were all pretty much thinking the same thing at the time.

"Exactly. So Cruxis crystals possess the same qualities as exspheres. We surmise that Colette is being affected by a parasitical infection from the Cruxis Crystal." The blonde gestured towards Colette with his free hand, the other was placed on his chin, eyes watching the group intently.

Lloyd barely heard Raine mutter a 'fascinating...'. His eyes widened and he turned to Raine, "Professor, don't talk like that. I mean, with all the bad stuff that's happened to Colette..." He trailed, hoping the teacher would get his point. She nodded at him, but the spark of interest remained in her eyes as Zelos began to speak.

"So that means if she got a Key Crest, she'd be okay, right?"

"Yes, she should be able to freely control the crystal if she got a Key Crest."

Lloyd tilted his head, trying to think of some place in Tethe'alla that they could get a Key Crest. They couldn't go back to Sylvarant because the Rehairds had no fuel. Without fuel, the machines were useless. The brunette murmured under his breath, "A Key Crest, huh? I wonder where we can get one..." And with that, the group silently decided to search the city.

As Lloyd was leaving, however, the researcher tapped him on the shoulder, getting the twin swordsman's attention.

"Lloyd, was it?" Said teen nodded, "The Chosen also requested we research the crystal on your neck. I wanted to tell you the information we have found about it. It wasn't much, and it'd be better if we could study it up close, but we found some rather interesting facts."

Lloyd's eyes widened briefly, "Go on..."

"We discovered that it is made from a meteorite that landed on this planet many years ago, probably before the Kharlan War. It acts almost like an exsphere, heightening the senses, however, to a much higher degree. Unfortunately, we could not find out how to remove it, or how it is even made. We believe that that information was destroyed after the war."

The swordsman nodded, thanking the man before leaving and joining up with the group.

"What was that about, bud?" Zelos inquired.

"Oh, nothing. They just told me that they couldn't find much on the crystal." When he received a worried look from almost everyone in the group, he shook his head, waving them off, "It's no big deal. What's more important is taking care of Colette." Zelos shot him a meaningful look, but he brushed him off, strolling ahead.

"Hey guys, come look at this!" Lloyd shouted after a moments search. He had come across a peddler's shop, having seen some things that interested him. He'd searched around for a bit, and eventually found what looked like a Key Crest. Well, the remains of one, anyways, but it was fixable.

"What is it?" Genis asked, the others following him over.

"I found a Key Crest."

"What, you want this piece of ju-, I mean, this treasure? This is one of my more rarer finds, so it'll cost you. I'm estimating about...ten thousand gald." The man sad, shifting the pack on his back. He grinned knowing that the pricing was outrageous, but this kid looked stupid enough to pay it.

That's when Zelos stepped up. The peddler eyed him warily, "Alright, call the one responsible for this shop. I want to speak to him immediately. I'm gonna make sure that he cannot do business anymore." The Chosen's expression darkened, a warning glint in his eyes. The man backed up for a moment, outrage prominent on his face.

"W-what? Just who do you think you are?"

"Who am I? Who do you think _you _are, talking to the Chosen like that. Why, I should have you arrested!" Zelos smirked, "You've got some nerve to be ignorant of the great Zelos Wilder, Chosen of Tethe'alla." The redhead crossed his arms, dramatically emphasizing the fact that he was the Chosen. The peddler took another step back, and bowed.

"I-I'm sorry, sir! Please, I humbly offer this to you as a gift! Please, forgive my ignorance!" He handed the crest to Zelos, and looked away, a bit miffed, even if this guy was the Chosen, or whatever.

"Thanks Zelos." Lloyd said as they headed back to the research facility.

"It was nothing. Besides, it was for my cute Colette."

They then headed back to the lab, requesting another room so Lloyd could fix the crest. It took only a couple minutes, and when he was done, Lloyd headed back into the main room, greeted by everyone's worried stares. It was evident that they were hoping to the Goddess Martel that this would work.

"Here we go..." Lloyd murmured, "I'm sorry its a bit late, but here's your birthday present, Colette." He said, walking over to the blonde and placing the crest on her.

There was a pause, as everyone held there breath, waiting to see if anything would happen. However, nothing did. The only change was for Colette to look down at her neck, and then back up at the group, eyes still a blood red color, and face expressionless. Lloyd nearly broke right then and there, but he made a promise, and he would never go back on it. He would save Colette, no matter what.

"How is it?" Genis asked, obviously worried.

"It...it doesn't seem to work." Lloyd turned to the group, disappointed.

"How about asking Dirk to help?" Raine suggested.

Genis nodded slowly, agreeing, "Yeah..but how would we get back?"

"Maybe the people of the academy would know a way." Lloyd pondered.

"Wait a second here, I'm supposed to keep tabs on you, you can't just go back to Sylvarant without permission!" Zelos protested, glancing around nervously. He couldn't just let them go, he'd get in so much trouble! Not to mention it would ruin his reputation with the king and the princess.

"Well then, just come along with us, oh compassionate Chosen One." Lloyd muttered sarcastically. He immediately regretted it, realizing that it had come out a little bit meaner than he'd expected. Zelos was taken aback, eyes wide and a little bit angry.

"What? Are you serious?"

"It's to save Colette, so you'll keep quiet about for us, won't you Zelos?"

Zelos glared at the ground for a moment, thinking about it. He sighed, defeated, "Ugh...how am I supposed to snitch after hearing that comment?" The Chosen rubbed his temples, sighing. He was going to be in serious shit if the king found out about this. Not only would they be arrested for treason, he would probably lose his title as Chosen One, or something.

"Okay, now all we need is-"

But Lloyd was interrupted as the guards suddenly showed up, blocking both the entrance to the hallway and the exit of the building, "Chosen, we heard what you said just now! We hear by declare you and your companions traitors for attempting to destroy Tethe'alla." One of the guards shouted, weapon at the ready in case they tried something.

"Humph, perfect timing, Mr. Papal Knight."

"Sir! We've got a match! These two are half-elves!" One of the guards shouted, causing the others to turn and see Raine and Genis in the hands of the two guards that had been blocking the doorway. Lloyd's eyes widened, and he saw Genis looking at the floor, shock evident on his face as well.

"Professor...Genis, are you really...?"

"Yes, it's true. Genis and I are half-elves."

* * *

**_Me: _**_Uh-oh! Now they're in trouble. Not really though, and y'all should know, if you've played the game. Those of you that haven't...well...yeah...xD If you haven't then I'm kind of wondering why you're here. Then again..there is the anime...  
**Lloyd:** Yup yup! So review and all that, okay?  
**Me:** Yes, review. I like to know that people are still reading this. :D _


	34. The Fooji Mountains

**Ch. 34: The Fooji Mountains**

_**Young: **Hello again. :)  
**Lloyd:** Hello all. xD Young is in a very strange mood at the moment, so if this chapter turns out weird, that's the reason.  
**Me:** Hey! I am perfect well to write! Except for...well...I don't know. I guess I am in a bit of a weird mood...huh...  
**Lloyd:** So should I disclaim?  
**Me:** Yes, if you would.  
**Lloyd:** Always. Young does not own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onto the story...? -crosses arms, trying to figure out what's wrong- Um...oh, yeah, if anyone wants to beta me, that would be amazing. xD I'm finding more and more mistakes in my stories._

* * *

Genis gaped at his sister wondering why in the worlds she had just given them away. With wide, frightful eyes, he looked at her, mouth hanging open, "S-sis!" The ache in his heart from his friends expressions was like someone had driven a knife straight into the organ. The only one that looked like nothing was wrong was Lloyd, but surely he would hate Genis too, right? After all, the half-elf was of the same race as the ones who toy with human lives.

Lloyd glared, utterly pissed. So what if they were half-elves, that didn't change a thing! How dare these guards barge in here and then try to take his friends away? He tried to pull away from the knight that held him, but found that his hands were now bound tightly with rope. The brunette ground his teeth, frustrated at his uselessness as Genis and Raine were led from the room, leaving himself, Zelos, Presea, and Colette to be thrown down into the basement.

"Keep them here until we return." Someone, Lloyd wasn't entirely sure who, stated to the researchers (most likely half-elves).

The twin swordsman was relieved when Zelos stepped forward and cut the ropes that bound his hands. He rubbed his wrists for a moment before looking up at the half-elf, a woman, looking at him with wide eyes, "Listen-"

"You're criminals, right? Why would you waste the life you've been given? You were fortunate enough to been born as humans..." She crossed her arms and pushed up her glasses, eyes narrowing now, watching them. Zelos stood next to Lloyd, a hand on his weapon. It was then that her eyes trailed to the corner of the room, seeing a very familiar girl, "P-Presea? Why have you come back?"

"You know her?" Lloyd asked suspiciously.

"Yes, we were ordered to experiment on her with an exsphere."

"So you were the ones who put that thing on her? Then you can remove it, right?" Lloyd questioned, eyes alight with hope. If anything, he could at least help this girl.

"I can stop the experiment, but why should I? You're all criminals, as far as I know."

"Listen, okay? My bud here is trying to escape so we can go save his _half-elf _friends. You can at least let us go for that, can't you Ms. Half-elf?" The redhead made sure to emphasize the word 'half-elf', and grinned, seeing the researcher narrow her eyes, obviously thinking about what he'd said.

"Why would a human be traveling with half-elves?"

"Okay, for one thing, I'm not human, alright?" Lloyd sighed, exasperated, and brought out his wings, watching the half-elves eyes widen. Crossing his arms, "Anyways, we can discuss this later, but can you please let us go? And maybe release Presea from the experiment. We don't have much time."

"Why should I-"

"He's not from Tethe'alla, so he doesn't view them like our world does." A voice spoke from literally no where. Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, Sheena appeared, a smirk on her face, "This guy here, well, let's just say he's very different. But anyways, you can trust his word."

The half-elf crossed her arms, pondering, and then as if she had decided something, strode over to a bookshelf and pushed it aside, revealing a passageway, "Fine, but in return for letting you go, you must come back here and show me these friends you speak of. Once you do that, I will release Presea from the experiment."

"Kate-" The other researcher in the room finally spoke up.

Kate shook her head, "Hurry, before I change my mind."

Lloyd thanked her graciously, and put his wings away, before racing up the stairs, followed by Sheena and, though a bit more slowly, Colette. Zelos stopped, having the need to ask the half-elf something, "Who ordered this experiment?"

"I-I can't say..."

"The pope then."

"Zelos! Hurry up!" Lloyd called from the top of the stairs. The redhead chuckled before exiting the basement and following his companions into the city.

xXx

When they finally reached the bridge, to Lloyd's horror, it was beginning to raise itself up. With a determined look, the brunette kept on running at full speed, "We'll have to jump it!" He called back to his friends. They looked uncertain for a moment, before deciding that they had to try, and followed Lloyd up the slowly increasing incline.

As it turned out, the gap they unsuccessfully tried to jump was too wide, and Sheena cried out as they fell, "Undine, help!" The blue summon spirit appeared, and created a wave that lifted them up and onto the other side of the bridge, lowering them in a cloud of mana. Lloyd watched as Colette floated down slowly above them.

"Whew..." Zelos sighed.

"Excuse me, but Professor Sage and Genis are..." Presea trailed.

Lloyd nodded and continued the race towards where Raine and Genis waited. Suddenly, however, his path was blocked by three papal knights. With a curse he removed his swords from their sheath and charged at the one in front, shouting, "Get out of our way!" The others soon followed suit and soon they were on their way towards their friends once more. Once they saw the knights that held them, Lloyd called, "Genis! Raine!"

The guards turned, "Damn! They must have escaped!"

Another fight broke out, but the guards were quickly defeated. Lloyd ran up to the smaller of the Sage's and quickly untied his hands, smiling and glad to have his friends back. The small half-elf eyed him warily, wondering if the brunette hated him or not. By the look on his face, it seemed as if he didn't.

"So are you guys okay if we continue travelling with you?" He finally asked after Raine's bonds were also undone.

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically, "Of course! You guys are my friends. It doesn't matter if your half-elves or not!"

"Well, what about the Tethe'allan half of our group?"

Sheena nodded, crossing her arms, "I don't mind. I'm from Mizuho, so I'm not exactly mainstream either."

Zelos, on the other hand, had various contradicting emotions flickering across his face. He was quiet for a moment, examining the ground in front of him, before he actually spoke, "Well, I can't exactly say that I'm kosher with this, but I guess I'm not that normal either. I mean, I grew up with people calling me a descendant of angels and all that." The redhead shrugged.

Lloyd chuckled, "Alright then, its decided. So what are we doing next? We need to make a pact with Volt so we can get the Rehairds up and running again." The twin swordsman grinned, excited by the idea of another pact, but Sheena didn't seem that up for the idea.

"Um...how about we go get the Rehairds first...?"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Zelos agreed.

"But how are we gonna carry those? I don't suppose you have some great idea for it." Lloyd stated, a very small hint of sarcasm hidden in his words.

"Actually, I do."

And so it was decided, they would head to the Fooji Mountains to retrieve the Rehairds. Lloyd was excited either way. Whatever Zelos had planned, it was bound to be interesting. The angel spent most of the trek there conversing with Genis about random things. Particularly magic. Lloyd wanted to know if he could learn any spells like the ones Genis used, even the ones Raine used would be useful. Maybe he could even learn to heal.

Thus, while they were walking, Raine and Genis began to explain to Lloyd how their magic worked. The brunette was just starting to get the concept of it when they arrived at the top of the mountain. Zelos ran forwards, to the middle of the area where they had crash landed. With a goofy grin on his face, he motioned for them to come closer.

"C'mere for a sec."

As soon as they reached where the redhead was, however, a wall of orange was erected around all of them, save Colette. Lloyd cursed, seeing a familiar blue haired man.

"This time, you're mine, Lloyd Irving!"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, another appeared. Lloyd couldn't help but growl, another person that was probably going to stop them. A woman, most likely a half-elf, wearing next to nothing with an odd cape around her shoulders stepped up next to Yuan, glaring, "Lord Yuan! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same, Pronyma."

"I am under orders from Lord Yggdrasil to retrieve the Chosen."

"Very well. I am taking custody of Lloyd."

The woman, Pronyma took a step towards Colette and frowned when she saw the Keycrest in place around her Cruxis Crystal, "What is this disgusting thing that is around the crystal? No matter, I shall remove it at once." She reached a hand forward, but was stopped when Colette's hands grabbed hers. A look of shock appeared on everyone's faces.

"No! That was a birthday present from Lloyd, I won't let you take it!"

* * *

_**Me: **So yeah, a crappy place to end it, but I can't really type anymore. xD Sorry  
**Lloyd:** Review, and stuff.  
**Me:** Review! :D _


	35. Getting To The Sewers

**Ch. 35: Getting To The Sewers**

**_Young: _**_Hello again everyone. Yeah...I realize this chapter is really late, but seriously? I haven't been feeling too well lately. Mentally, anyways. But I'm kind of over it now, so I decided to finish this chapter up and post it. I hope it sounds okay.  
**Lloyd:** Of course it'll sound okay. They always do.  
**Me:** Yeah..but, well...xD Never mind.  
**Lloyd:** Want me to do the disclaimer?  
**Me:** If you would, that would be a big help.  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward, to le story!_

* * *

"C-Colette?" Lloyd gasped, eyes wide. She, she was back? A grin split across his face, realization dawning in his eyes. The blonde turned, and frowned at Lloyd and the others.

"Why is everyone in that thing?"

"Impossible!" Yuan, who had been completely forgotten, shouted, "There's now way a pitiful Key Crest like that could supress a Cruxis Crystal!" He moved to go and grab it off, but was blocked by Pronyma.

Said half-elf, having been almost forgotten as well, glared and stepped in front of Yuan, "This will not do! Very well, I shall take you by force." The green haired woman charged at Colette, only to be smacked away by one of the angel's chakrams.

"Let me go!" But as she said this, the blonde somehow managed to trip, and fell backwards straight onto the device that held the barrier (that was holding the others) in place. With a murmur of 'whoops', she stood and brushed herself off. Realizing that the barrier was no longer up, she looked down at the machine she'd landed on, "Oh no...I broke it."

Zelos, along with the others, chuckled, "Alright! Good job, my little Colette!"

"Haha! Now that's our Colette." Genis smirked.

"That, brought back some painful memories." Sheena muttered, hand subconciously rubbing her back. She'd landed on it back when she fell into the trap on the Ossa Trail.

Pronyma stepped forward, dark eyes narrowed in anger, "You impudent-! prepare to die!"

And so the fight began. By now the others had realized what was going on and pulled out their weapons. Raine, Genis and Colette took up the back, all chanting under their breath. Lloyd, Sheena and Zelos took on the job of guarding the casters, thus taking up the frontlines. Sheena ran at the dark haired woman, shouting, "Pyre seal!" and knocking Pronyma onto her butt. The Grand Cardinal cursed and quickly stood, just in time to block a volley of sword swings from Lloyd. She was suddenly knocked back when spikes of rock jutted up from under her.

Genis grinned in triumph until the desian suddenly warped behind him, knocking him to the ground with a swing of her staff. The mage growled, feeling the green mana sweep over his body as Raine healed him. Lloyd took this moment to catch Pronyma off guard and swung his swords down, yelling, "Fierce Demon Fang!" as a shockwave hit the darked haired half-elf.

It didn't take much more to beat her, and soon, she was on the ground, unconcious. Lloyd ran forward, swords still drawn and went to swing at Yuan, "This time, we settle this!" He shouted as he swung, but his weapons were blocked by a familiar auburn haired swordsman. Lloyd's eyes narrowed dangerously, the memories of the Tower flooded back into his mind. He was almost about to swing at Kratos, when Yuan spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"Lord Yggrasil requests your presence." Kratos stated simply, putting his sword away and eyeing Lloyd, who currently looked like he wanted to take Kratos' head off. Which, in a way, he did. Yuan sighed, and turned to Kratos.

"Are you taking the Chosen?"

"No, we shall leave her for now. Its the toxicosis." Kratos spoke, glancing at Colette.

Yuan nodded and glared at Lloyd, "Our battle will have to wait." Said brunette was not surprised when the blue haired Renegade leader suddenly spouted a pair of lavender colored wings, before flying off towards the Tower of Salvation. Sheena, and the others, on the other hand gasped when he flew away.

"He's an angel too?"

Lloyd ran forward to the edge, resisting the urge to take out his own wings and follow Yuan, "Dammit..." He muttered, hearing someone walk up beside him. He turned to see Kratos, who was giving him a quizzical expression.

"What are you doing?"

Lloyd turned, glaring, "What?"

"Why have you come to Tethe'alla?"

"I'm going to save Colette." Lloyd stated, as if it were obvious.

"What good will saving the Chosen do? The worlds are still vying for each others mana. Their positions have merely been reversed." Kratos crossed his arms. The others in the group watched their exchange with wide eyes, the sheer amount of tension in the air was enough to make even the strongest man stagger.

"I'm going to look for a way to save both the worlds, and Colette!" Lloyd growled, frusterated with this man in front of him. How dare he come up to him and question his motives? This man, no, _angel _who probably pretended to be his father just to get Lloyd on his side. His eyes narrowed dangerously, hands resting on the hilts of his swords, "Besides, what would you care, _dad_?" Lloyd spat, watching Kratos visibly flinch.

"Wait wait wait, so this guy is your father?" Zelos asked, butting into the conversation and approaching Lloyd. The rest of the group looked on with shocked expressions. Raine, however, narrowed her eyes. She'd had her suspicions ever since that time back in Sylvarant.

Lloyd nodded, silently watching Kratos.

Kratos brought out his wings, stared at Lloyd for a moment, and took off towards the Tower of Salvation. Said brunette growled, taking out his own wings and moving to follow, but was stopped by Zelos. He turned to the redhead, fury in his eyes.

"Bud, we've gotta go back, okay? You can track him down later. Whats more important is finding a way to get back to Sybak." Zelos spoke softly.

Lloyd stood still for a moment, breathing deeply and trying to calm himself down. He'd never felt so, so angry before. It was like he'd been completely taken over by his hatred. Shaking his head, he grinned shakily and nodded, "Yeah, let's go guys."

As they walked down the mountain, Lloyd could've sworn he heard a laugh echoing in his mind, but he shook it off, trying to focus on the task at hand. They needed to get back to Meltokio to try and go to the research lab so they could find a way to get to Sybak again. A thought crossed his mind. How were they going to get in? Raine had said a while back that the gates would probably be blocked.

"Hey Zelos-"

"Don't worry about it, bud. I've got a way to get into the city. How do you think I get in when I come back really late at night?" Zelos wiggled his eyebrows at Lloyd, but the twin swordsman stared at him blankly, obviously not getting the joke.

"Why do you stay out really late?" Lloyd asked, oblivious to Zelos' hidden meaning.

"You really don't want to know that, Lloyd." Sheena commented from behind. She was walking next to Colette, who kept pointing out random animals and birds and clouds. The angel stared wide eyed around, happy to finally be able to feel everything again.

Lloyd looked at the blonde, smiling a little. At least Colette was back to her old self. Even though he had something on him that no body seemed to know about, he still felt as though things were finally reaching some form of normalcy. He smiled, feeling a slight breeze move the hair out of his face. Things were finally calming down.

"Lloyd! Look out!" Sheena called, pushing the twin swordsman out of the path of a charging zombie. A group of monsters had appeared, unnoticed by Lloyd in his calm state. The dark haired ninja blocked the zombie's attack with a shout of "Guardian seal!"

Lloyd took out his swords and glared, going for the nearest monster. He slashed a gigantic ladybug in half and then turned to face an oncoming grasshopper. It was nearly three times his size, but it went down easily. The angel whirled around, blocking an attack from a demon that seemed to come out of no where. Suddenly, it was gone in a cloud of blood as Zelos used a newly learned technique called "Light Spear".

"Thanks." Lloyd grinned, putting his swords away. The battle was over.

Finally, after what seemed like days, they arrived back at the gates of Meltokio. Just as Raine predicted, the gates were closed, two Papal Knights standing in front of it. The group was currently hidden in the bushes, watching the two guards. Zelos tapped Lloyd on the shoulder, and the brunette turned to see everyone shuffling towards the left of the wall that surrounded Meltokio.

They arrived in front of what looked like a sewage gate. There was a small hole in it, just enough room for a person to fit through. Zelos smirked and motioned to it, "That's our way in." He spoke with pride in his voice. Sheena glared, crossing her arms.

"We have to go through the sewers?"

"Would you rather not get in at all?" Zelos entered through the hole, not bothering to wait for a reply.

The others soon followed suit, some more reluctant than others. Little did they know, something was waiting for them at the other end.

* * *

_**Me: **And there you have it. I'm going to be out of town for a while (and without a computer) so the next chapter might not be out for a little bit. And I apologize for the extreme shortness of it, but I thought it was best to leave the sewers and research place for the next chapter. Sorry.  
**Lloyd:** Review? :D  
**Me:** DO IT! _


	36. Sybak Again

**Ch. 36: Sybak (Again)**

_**Young: **So here it is. xD Yeah, been a long long time. I got sick, went on vacation, and started school. It kind of stinks. I don't like school T_T But yeah...  
**Lloyd:** You have to deal with it. And besides, you have friends at school.  
**Me:** Yeah...anyways. Enough about me. Disclaimer?  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward! _

* * *

Lloyd was tense all the way through the sewers. Something seemed off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He kept his hands on his swords throughout the whole trip. Just as they were reaching the exit, his suspicions were confirmed when some criminals stepped out of the darkness. The brunette eyed them warily, taking a step forward.

"What do you want?"

The trio of convicts smirked. The lead one, or the one that seemed to be in the lead, stepped forward, holding a club in the air, "It's nothin' personal, but we gotta take you guys out." He charged, only to be blocked by Lloyd, who had thrown up his swords in a defensive 'x'. The bald man glared and jumped back, the other two rushing forwards.

Raine and Genis immediately took their usual positions, Zelos and Sheena running forwards to join Lloyd at the front lines. Presea stuck close to the sage siblings, protecting them from enemies trying to stop their spell casting. Colette hung back just a bit, throwing her chakrams or using the occasional technique. Lloyd and Zelos teamed up on the one that the twin swordsman had blocked, Sheena and Colette taking care of the other while Raine, Presea, and Genis fought the last one.

Lloyd grunted as he slashed the last man across the chest, not a fatal blow. The brunette wanted to avoid killing these men. After all, they could probably get information out of them. The convict fell, joining his companions on the ground. Lloyd was about to speak, when out of no where a man jumped down from above them and landed directly on Zelos' back. Glaring, Lloyd went to grab his sword, but stopped when the stranger threatened him.

"One move and the Chosen dies."

"Lloyd, if you leave me here, I swear I'll come back to haunt you!" Zelos called from the ground.

Lloyd grinned mischievously, putting his swords away and crossing his arms, "I'm feeling a strong urge to leave you right now." He responded and took a step forward, gaining a serious look. He was ready to charge at the man when Presea suddenly stepped up and swung her large ax at him. She narrowed her eyes, and the man gasped.

"It can't be..." He trailed. Suddenly looking like he'd seen a ghost, he turned to the others, "Let's go." And ran away. The men, though looking reluctant, followed after him.

As soon as the criminal got off him, Zelos stood and raced over to Lloyd, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Lloyd narrowed his eyes and sighed, wondering how long the redhead was planning on hanging on. It was only when Raine coughed lightly that the swordsman let go. Lloyd scooted away quickly and examined the area.

"Let's continue on." He spoke after making sure the convicts were gone.

"Yeah, the exit should be around here somewhere." Zelos said nonchalantly and strolled up the stairs.

The rest of the group followed after him, most of them looking around warily, wondering if the convicts would come back. Raine had her hands on her hips, thinking as she walked. Finally, she stopped and turned to Presea, who would've kept walking had the rest of the party did. However, when they stopped, she did.

"Presea...do you know that man?" Raine asked.

The reply was a shake of the head and a murmur of, "Negative."

The half-elf nodded, and then continued walking as if she hadn't said anything in the first place. Lloyd looked between the two for a moment before shrugging and jogging to catch up with Zelos. The redhead greeted him with a wave, before glancing around, as if he were looking for something. Lloyd tried to figure out what it was, but only got shush'd in return.

Soon enough, Zelos found what he was looking for. Running over to it, he gestured towards the ladder, "This is our way out of here. It leads up to a manhole. The cover comes off real easy, but I'll go up first just in case." With a wink at them, the swordsman began climbing up with practiced ease. Lloyd came next, then Sheena, and the others.

Eventually they reached the Elemental Research Laboratory. Sheena went in first, making sure that there were people upstairs. With a grin back at them, she left the others standing in the lobby and went downstairs. Lloyd shifted uneasily, the half-elf working behind the desk eyeing them with suspicion. After a moment, Lloyd grew tired of just standing there and suggested that they go see what was up in the basement.

"That's outrageous!" Sheena shouted, crossing her arms and glaring at the researcher.

"What is?" Raine inquired as they entered the room.

"They want to send us across in the EC. The _EC_! Isn't that crazy?" She turned to them, as if she expected some kind of response to that. Instead, she only received confused stares. Blinking, she remembered that they didn't know what the 'EC' was, "Oh yeah...sorry. The EC is called the elemental cargo. It's used to transport goods across to the other continent. They think that if we can use Undine's power than we can get across in no time. But that thing is tiny!" With that she rounded on the researcher again.

"But Sheena, it's the only way!" The researcher reasoned.

Zelos put his hands on his hips, "Even though that idea is totally uncool, it _is _our only option."

Sheena looked away, sighing lightly. Raine looked like she was going to get sick right there. Genis was as excited as Colette and Lloyd were, bouncing lightly on his feet and staring at Raine with pleading eyes. Presea stood towards the stairs, an indifferent expression on her face. The ninja frowned, but turned back towards the half-elves.

"Fine, we'll do it."

And that was how they ended up in a cramped machine, riding towards the continent that Sybak was on. The ride was bumpy, because waves kept crashing into the side of the EC, but other than that, it was pretty pleasant. Oh, and the fact that they were all nearly stuck to each other made things a bit uncomfortable.

"So when we get to Sybak, all we have to do is talk to Kate, right? And then she'll release Presea from the experiment." Lloyd spoke, trying to make the ride a little more comfortable. Instead, he only ended up breathing onto Zelos' face, causing the Chosen to send a glare at him. Lloyd grinned apologetically and then looked at Raine.

"Yes...it should work that way, anyways."

The brunette nodded, and shifted himself, wanting the ride to be over.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of being cramped in what seemed like the smallest ship ever, they arrived on the dock beside the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. Lloyd stepped out, stretching and unleashing his wings, wanting to stretch them as well. Genis joined him, and soon the others followed suit. Raising the small device in the air, Lloyd stuck the EC into the wing pack with a small 'popping' sound.

"Shall we?"

With that they headed off towards the direction of Sybak. From the dock, it was still fairly visible in the distance. Lloyd could see it easily, but he figured that was because of his enhanced senses. He led the group, keeping a wary eye out for monsters. They walked in their usual formation, Lloyd at the front, Zelos behind him, Sheena and Colette behind Zelos, with Presea, Raine and Genis behind them.

Soon enough they got to the city, only to find Kratos blocking their way.

He ignored the others and walked over to Colette, "Chosen, if you wish to live you will remove the Key Crest from your Cruxis Crystal." Colette's hands flew to her throat, and her blue eyes glared at Kratos. For once, she seemed actually angry. Or at least defiant.

"No! It was a birthday present from Lloyd! I'm never taking it off."

"Humph..." With that, Kratos made to leave.

"Wait, Kratos! Why do you want her to take it off?" Lloyd shouted, glaring.

"That is not important." And then the angel was gone.

"That guy makes me so mad..." Lloyd grumbled as they walked to the research lab, "I mean, who does he think he is?" Narrowing his chocolate eyes, he scanned the area before moving the manhole that covered the secret entrance into the laboratory. Letting everyone else go before him, he quickly crawled into the hole and slid the metal cover back over the entrance.

Kate looked up as they entered.

"I have brought my friends. See?" Lloyd stated, gesturing towards Raine and Genis.

"I-I see...they truly do bare the same blood that I do." The half-elf looked to the ground, as if she were having seconds thoughts. But when she looked back up, her eyes held determination, "Very well. I will do as you have asked and release Presea from the experiment." The other researcher beside her gasped.

"Kate! Do you know what will happen if you-"

"Yes, and I am resigned to my fate." Looking towards the group, Kate crossed her arms, "Deep in the Gaoracchia Forest lies a dwarf named Altessa. Ask him to create a key crest for Presea. With that, she should return to normal." The half-elf turned away from them, looking towards the ground, "Now go, before the guards come and you get caught."

Lloyd looked at the half-elf, a frown on his face, "Thank you, Kate."

With that, the teen was dragged away towards the exit. Sheena pushed aside the bookshelf and they all ran up the stairs, wanting to get out of there as fast as they could. When the cover was safely pushed back over the entrance, Lloyd looked at the group, wondering just what 'punishment' Kate was going to receive.

"Where's the Gaoracchia Forest?" Genis asked after a moment of silence.

"It's just north of here. C'mon, follow me." Sheena then led the way out of the city, all of them wanting to get out of the city as fast as they possibly could.

* * *

**_Me: _**_Again, I want to apologize for it being so late. I've been SO lazy lately, not to mention I can barely sleep at night, so I've been doing mostly nothing but sleeping in my free time. But yeah...review? Please? They really do help me update faster.  
**Lloyd:** Please review? _


	37. Mizuho

**Ch. 37: Mizuho **

**_Young: _**_So I owe you all a huge, huge apology. Things happened, and I wasn't able to write. A little while ago my sister did something and ended up in the hospital. She just got out the other day, so I decided to write this. Once again, I apologize for the ginormous delay.  
**Lloyd:** Eh...  
**Me:** What's up, Lloyd? o.o  
**Lloyd:** Nothing. Anyways, want me to disclaim you?  
**Me:** Why not.  
**Lloyd:** Okay. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward. :)_

* * *

As soon as they entered the forest, Lloyd's guard went up, and his hands flew to his swords. Zelos flashed him a questioning look before his human ears were able to pick up the faint sound of clinking armor. Colette, who was standing next to Lloyd, grabbed her chakrams, narrowing her eyes and paying close attention to the sound.

"Guys, we have company." Lloyd said just as the guards appeared.

"There's the fugitives! Get them!" The lead one shouted.

Lloyd charged at the man who'd spoken, slashing down his armor, searching for a weak point. He found it, and pushed his free sword into it, causing the soldier to cry out, blood spurting from the wound and his mouth. The angel paused briefly, wondering when fighting became so easy, but shrugged it off and attacked again. The fight was over within minutes, the brunette not even breaking a sweat.

"Wow, Lloyd! You're so strong!" Colette commented, smiling.

The twin swordsman chuckled and made his usual embarrassed gesture before examining the rest of the group. Everyone seemed to be just fine. A silent decision was made, they had to press on no matter what. Presea hung back, as if the forest scared her slightly, but a small spark of hope had appeared in her seemingly lifeless eyes.

"I want to go home." The small girl droned.

Zelos nodded, "If my hunny wants, my hunny gets. Let us go!"

With that, they headed further into the dark forest. Lloyd shivered, hating the atmosphere here with a fiery passion. Even the shadows seemed to reach out for them. It sent chills down his spine. Shaking those thoughts away, he focused on not tripping over roots. As one could imagine, Colette had already tripped many times. The blonde always got back up, brushing her self off and murmuring "oops".

It didn't take long before they reached the end of the forest, or what seemed like it. The path they followed broke off into two paths. They started heading for the one that Sheena pointed out, but stopped when Lloyd suddenly ceased moving. The other's curiously watched as his brow furrowed, mouth forming a thin line.

"What is it?" Raine asked.

"I can hear footsteps. It sounds like armor clinking together." Lloyd spoke softly, as if they (whoever they were) would be able to hear him if he talked above a whisper. The brunette looked over at Colette, who nodded, affirming that she had heard them as well.

"Hold on, I'll send Corrine to scout." Sheena spoke up, summoning the fox.

He ran off in the direction that the ninja had indicated. They waited in a tense silence, all wondering the same thing. Were there more guards? Obviously, if both Lloyd and Colette had heard them, then there had to be. If it were true, then where would they go? They couldn't turn back. Not when they had come so far. A couple minutes later, Corrine returned.

"Sheena! There's a bunch of soldiers heading this way!" The fox shouted before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

"Well what now?" Genis asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Suddenly, something, a streak of blue, fell from the trees, landing in the middle of the group. Lloyd cursed, hands flying to his weapons, but the stranger shook his head.

"I do not want trouble. I just wish to speak with Presea." Said girl backed away.

"This guy is going to hurt Presea!" The smaller sage shouted, glaring.

Lloyd cursed again and charged at the man, Presea swinging her ax to get the stranger away from her. The brunette swung, missing by mere inches because the convict back-flipped out of his way. Glaring, he ran at him again, trying to find a break in his defense, but this guy was strong. He dodged nearly every strike that Lloyd threw at him.

It wasn't until Zelos ran up to the twin swordsman's side, shouting "Light spear!" And shooting the guy into the air. Gravity led him back to the ground, and he landed on his back, unconscious. The redhead cautiously approached the body, prodding it with the butt end of his sword.

"Where can we go now?" Raine questioned, putting a hand on her chin.

"I guess...I guess I can take you guys to Mizuho." Sheena spoke up.

Zelos sent her a curious look, "Won't you get in trouble?"

The ninja nodded, "Yeah, but that's not what's important right now, right? So let's go." She began to walk towards the exit that would lead to Mizuho, but she stopped, suddenly remembering something. Turning back to the group, she looked towards the convict laying in the dirt, "Zelos, carry the big guy."

"You want me to carry this oaf? I don't think I can." With a grunt, the swordsman feebly attempted to lift the body, but found he could not, "See what I mean? He's heavy!"

"Here, let me help." Colette approached. As if she were lifting a piece of string, she picked up the blue haired man, "Oh, he's not as heavy as I thought he would be. I think I can carry him." Smiling, the blonde turned to Sheena, gesturing for other to lead the way.

Zelos, Genis, and Lloyd stared after the four who'd began walking towards the exit.

"W-what just happened?" The smaller Sage asked, eyes wide.

"I don't know..."

"Let's go, guys. We don't want to fall behind." Lloyd said and they headed out.

Mizuho was a rather small village. Well, it wasn't really _small_, just not as large as some of the places they'd been recently. People wandered about the streets, all of them dressed in some weird, unfamiliar clothing. As the group entered, the villagers eyed them warily, and sent Sheena curious and, in some cases, angry glances. A man dressed in all blue approached them at the entrance.

"Orochi, inform the Vice-Chief that I've brought the travelers from Sylvarant."

The man nodded, though still wary of the others. He headed off towards a house in the middle of the village. Lloyd guessed that that was where the chief resided. The town felt so homey to the brunette, yet it was so unfamiliar. Everything seemed different from what they experienced. Perhaps that was why they were not "mainstream"?

After a while, Orochi came back.

"Wait here, guys." With that, Sheena followed him back to the Chief's house.

Lloyd sighed and turned his gaze back towards the man laying on the ground. Colette had set him down as soon as they arrived, though she didn't look tired. The brunette knelt down by him, examining him and wondering why he had wanted to talk to Presea. With a sudden jerk, the criminal rose and nearly knocked himself into Lloyd. If Lloyd hadn't grabbed him and forced him to the ground using his angelic strength, he would have had a bruise on his forehead.

"Where am I...?" The blue haired man asked as Lloyd let up on him, chocolate gaze still fixed on him and watching him cautiously.

"You're in the village of Mizuho, and you're also our prisoner, so don't try anything." Genis spoke up, crossing his arms, but also standing slightly behind Lloyd.

"I like to think that I'm smart enough to know not to try anything when I am easily outnumbered."

"So what's your name?" Lloyd asked, sitting down on the dirt. Before the older man could reply, Sheena came back, telling them that the Chief requested their presence. Nodding, they stood up again and followed her towards the house. A nervous feeling wormed its way into Lloyd's gut, but he pushed it back and forced himself to be calm.

When they arrived, the chief invited them in, "Traveler's from Sylvarant, because of Sheena's failure to kill you, we now face persecution from the Tethe'alla Royal Family and the Church of Martel." The Vice-Chief, Tiga, stated, his face surprisingly blank, "Now, I have a question to ask you. What do you plan to do now that you've saved the Chosen?"

Lloyd looked at his feet for a moment, pondering his words, before he spoke again, "I've been thinking about that for a while now. Someone asked me once why I came to Tethe'alla, what it is we came to do. I know now that I want to find a way to save both worlds. I want a world where everyone can live freely."

Tiga smiled faintly, "You're an idealist. However, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant flourish only by stealing one another's mana. Anything you say now is merely wishful thinking."

The twin swordsman stood, a determined look in his eye, "Then we need to change that structure. This world was created by that Yggdrasil guy, right? If a human or elf built this, then we should be able to reverse it!" The fire in the brunette's eyes burned stronger than usual.

"You sound like the hero, Mithos. He was an idealist as well, just like you. He ended the war by convincing the two opposing countries that there was a way they could live in peace. Are you saying that you can become the next Mithos?"

"I'm not Mithos. I want to make my own path, one were we can-" The teen's speech was cut off by a wracking pain that seemed to originate from where the crystal was. He cried out, crashing to the floor and writhing in pain before his movements stilled.

"Lloyd?" Genis shouted, standing and rushing to his friend. The rest soon followed suit. Raine knelt by him, murmuring healing spells under her breath. The other's looked worriedly at the still form of their comrade.

"Is he alright?" Tiga asked, worried.

"He should be fine. I don't know what happened..." Then, suddenly Zelos spoke up.

"Do you have a room where we can lay him down? I've got something to show the rest of the group." The redhead asked the Vice-Chief. Receiving a nod, the magic swordsman motioned for Colette to pick up Lloyd. Once that was done, they followed Orochi out of the house and to a nearby, smaller house. Inside was one bed and a fireplace, along with a table and a couple of chairs.

Colette gently laid Lloyd down, and Zelos went over to the bed. He began unbuttoning Lloyd's shirt, and when it was off, he pulled the tank top over his friends head. Then, he turned the teen over, and gasped.

"Oh my god..."

* * *

**_Me: _**_Am I evil or what? xD Cliffhangers to the max! -fist pumps-  
**Lloyd:** Whatever, just review and stuffs. It'll make her happy.  
**Me:** Yup yup! Do what he says or the teddy bear gets it! _


	38. Something's Wrong

**Ch. 38: Something's Wrong**

_**Young: **Another chapter for you! Fear it. :3 Thanks to all y'all for always being so patient with me. It makes me smile. My sister is feeling loads better now, and she's out of the hospital, so everything's good. Anyways, here's your next chapter!  
**Lloyd:** Wait, wait wait..you're forgetting something.  
**Me:** What am I forgetting?  
**Lloyd:** Me, of course! And the disclaimer.  
__**Me:** Oh yeah, well, you can take care of that for me.  
**Lloyd:** Whatevs. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward!_

* * *

"Oh my god..." Zelos gasped.

"W-what is that...?" Colette asked, worry evident on her face. She backed up slightly, as if whatever it was were going to attack her. The redhead next to her backed up slightly as well, to give the rest of the group a better look at their friends back.

"Has he always had these...these _things _on him?" Raine questioned.

Zelos nodded, "But it wasn't as bad as it is now..."

On Lloyd's neck was the crystal, of course, but the vein-like things that had been there before were more prominent now. Instead of barely rising above the rest of the skin, they were like little hills on his back. Their color had turned that of a dark purple, now matching the color of the crystal. Said gem had originally been white, but now it was darker.

Raine sat down in nearby chair, and everyone followed suit.

"The only thing we can do is wait until he wakes up..." The older Sage murmured.

_~Dream~_

_"Mommy! Daddy! Where are you?" A young Lloyd called out, running through the forest. The leaves crunched under his feet as he ran, the moon shining down and illuminating his path. Footsteps sounded to his right, and he paused, murmuring, "Mommy...?"_

_Sure enough, the familiar chocolate haired woman dashed out of the trees, hugging her son close and kissing his forehead, "Oh Lloyd, I'm so glad we found you! Don't you ever leave us like that again, okay?" The auburn haired man stepped out behind her, watching the scene with a small smile. _

_"I'm sorry, mommy!" Lloyd sobbed into her shoulder._

_"It's okay, Lloyd." His mother calmed him, still holding him close. _

_Suddenly Lloyd was ripped from the memory, and he was in that same world of darkness. Eyes wide, he tried to stand, but found he was trapped again. That same voice echoed off of the 'walls' around him, sending shivers of fear up and down his spine._

"It's okay, Lloyd."

_~Reality~_

Lloyd awoke, shooting up and looking around. He looked much like a scared animal, and he eyed the people around him with wary eyes. It took a moment for his mind to register them as his friends. With a sigh, he relaxed his body and leaned back against the pillows.

"Lloyd...? Are you alright?"

He realized that it was Colette speaking to him and replied, "Yeah..."

"In that case, let me ask you something. What are those markings on your back?" Raine questioned, getting right down to business. Lloyd flinched and slowly met her gaze. She narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms and waited for his reply. He seemed reluctant to, but instead, he shrugged lightly.

"I don't really know. They just kind of appeared there. Why..? Did they get worse?" His voice suddenly became frightened. The first dream he had suddenly coming back into his mind. That voice...it had told him to sleep. Was whatever was speaking to him actually trying to do something? Was that why the things on his back got worsened?

"How strange..." Raine placed a hand on her chin.

"I think we should go find this Altessa guy and see if he knows anything about Bud here, and we can also get the key crest for Presea." Zelos spoke, standing up. The rest of the group agreed.

"Can you stand, Lloyd?" Genis asked.

The brunette nodded and stood slowly. He was a bit shaky at first, but otherwise he was fine. Grabbing his shirt and jacket, he slipped them on and turned to the others, nodding. They all exited the room, and entered the place where they had been speaking with Tiga. Said vice-chief waited patiently for them on a mat in the middle of the room.

"I'm glad to see you've awakened. I trust you are well now?" Receiving a nod, he continued, "We of Mizuho have decided to aid you in your quest, on one condition."

"What is that?" Lloyd asked, sitting down on a mat opposite the chief.

"You merely need to aid us when we move to Sylvarant. That's all."

The brunette nodded slowly, "Yeah...I think we can do that, right guys?"

The rest of the group nodded in reply.

"Good. Then we will have our sources tracking your Rehairds. In the meantime, the guards have cleared out of the forest if you wish to continue your way through there." Thanking Tiga, Lloyd lead the others out of the house and into the streets of Mizuho. Sheena stayed behind momentarily before following them out.

"What was that about?" Zelos asked as she approached them.

"Nothing. Anyways, why is the big guy still with us?"

Said man spoke up at that moment, "I apologize. I have not yet introduced myself, my name is Regal."

"I think we should have Regal fight with us. After all, he won't trying anything before he gets to talk with Presea, right? He might be useful." Lloyd suggested, cutting Zelos off. Raine placed a hand on her chin, and, after a moment, nodded.

"You have my word that I will not betray you." Regal said.

"Well, now that that's settled, shall we get moving?" Zelos linked his arms behind his head and headed towards the exit. Everyone else soon followed taking up their usual positions. Regal walked next to Lloyd. The teen could tell that he wanted to ask something, so after a moment, the twin swordsman spoke up.

"What do you want to ask?"

"You could tell? Anyways, you're an angel, correct?" Lloyd nodded, "How did you become one?"

"Well..." Lloyd frowned, "I suppose it's because my father is one, but there's probably more to it than that." His frown only deepened when he spoke the word 'father'. The thought of Kratos made him unnaturally angry. Something in the back of his mind told him that something was wrong, but he ignored it.

Regal chose to leave it at that, seeing the expression on Lloyd's face darken.

Lloyd, left to his own thoughts, remembered his dream. Furrowing his brow, he wondered what his mother had meant, and why his mother had been there in the first place. She was dead, so did that mean it was her spirit talking to him? His head was beginning to hurt, so he pushed those thoughts away and focused on where they were going.

They were just now exiting the village. The forest was in their sights.

"I don't hear any guards." Colette spoke up as they entered the trees.

Nodding, Sheena led the way towards the exit that was opposite the one that led to Mizuho, "He's just this way, past those trees over there. First, however, is Ozette." Presea seemed to respond to this slightly, and shifted uncomfortably on her feet, clutching her ax.

"I want to go home."

Zelos nodded, "Okay, well lets get moving then!"

With that, they headed out of the forest. Soon enough they found themselves at the entrance to Ozette. Presea, with a sudden burst of energy, ran into the town, leaving the others staring at her retreating form. Regal moved to follow her, but found that the others had stayed still.

"I think we should follow her."

The others agreed, and they took off towards where Presea had gone.

What they found nearly made all of them get sick right then.

"How...how did this happen?" Raine murmured, covering her nose at the stench.

"We must get her out of here." Regal stepped forward, but suddenly Presea looked defensive. Narrowing her lifeless eyes, she reached for her ax and watched the blue haired man warily.

"It doesn't seem like she wants to leave right now." Colette said.

"But...we can't just leave her here." Genis watched as the girl ran over to the bed where the remains of a dead man lay. She watched the body for a moment before running back to the desk where she was carving something into a piece of wood. She didn't even seem to notice that the man in the bed was dead.

"We...we will have to leave her here." Zelos turned and left the room.

The others followed him out and they gathered in the yard.

"I feel really bad leaving her there, but that just means we have to hurry with talking to this Altessa guy. C'mon, lets go." Lloyd led the way out of the village, and towards the dwarf's house. Something, another voice that was not his own, laughed in his head, murmuring something that sounded kind of like, _'You cannot be saved.'_

The brunette stopped walking immediately.

"Bud..? Are you sure you're alright?" Zelos stopped walking and turned to Lloyd.

"Yeah..." Despite his words, Lloyd couldn't help but feel that if things didn't get fixed soon, something would surely happen. That something would definitely _not _be a good thing.

* * *

_**Me: **And there you have it. A filler chapter with not a lot of action. Don't worry, in the next chapter we'll find out what is wrong with Lloyd. Well, kind of, anyways. So yeah, review?  
**Lloyd:** Quit forgetting about me!  
**Me:** Oh yeah, sorry. D:  
**Lloyd: **Jeez. Anyways, review! _


	39. Viverra Nullam

**Ch. 39: Viverra Nullam**

**_Young: _**_So yeah...hello again. It's been a while, right? I'm really sorry about that. I've been stuck in a rut as of late. I couldn't get the energy up to write this. Hopefully this turns out good. -_-'  
**Lloyd:** YOU ARE A SLACKER.  
**Me:** I know, right? Still, I'll try to write, for those of you that still read this...  
**Lloyd:** Do you want me to disclaim?  
**Me:** Hold on. The chapter title is kinda funky, right? It's Latin for Star Crystal. xD I wanted to give it a cooler title than just "Star Crystal" so yeah...anyways, go ahead, Lloyd.  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward~! _

* * *

Lloyd stepped out of the house. The stench seemed to follow him outside, and he gagged dryly. Perhaps the fact that he no longer could eat was a good thing, otherwise he probably would have...well, it would have been a pretty disgusting sight. He took a deep breath, trying his best not to breathe in through his nose.

"That was...unpleasant." Zelos commented as they walked towards the exit of the village.

"I do not wish to leave her in that_..._that _place _any longer than we have to. We should hurry." Regal spoke up, his fists clenching. The rest of the group agreed, and they were off, walking as quickly as they could. It didn't take but around an hour to reach Altessa's house, but for everyone, that seemed too long.

As he pushed open the door, Lloyd took a whiff of the air, smelling curry faintly. He was greeted by a green haired woman, who stared blankly at him. The stare gave him chills, reminding him of what Presea and Colette looked like. Pushing away his thoughts, he spoke up, "Is a man named Altessa here?"

"What do you people want?" A gruff voice spoke up from Lloyd's left.

"Ah, hello. Are you Altessa?" Raine spoke up, stepping forward a bit.

"Yeah. What do you want?" The short, white haired dwarf glared at them from under his rather bushy eyebrows. His small black eyes were filled with suspicion, and he stood towards the back, where there was a hole in the wall. Probably an escape route of some sort. Raine didn't seem to notice this, for she kept speaking.

"We need your help. There is a girl, Presea-"

"I want nothing to do with that girl! Leave!" With that, the dwarf exited the room.

The robot-like woman spoke up at this point, "I APOLOGIZE FOR THE MASTER. IF YOU WISH TO HELP PRESEA, GO TO THE MINES SOUTH OF HERE AND FIND INHIBITOR ORE." Altessa's voice echoed throughout the house, calling for the green haired woman, "I MUST GO." Nodding towards them, she turned and left the room.

"Wait!" The voice of a blonde Chosen called out, "Please, we have to ask you about something else." Her words were directed towards the direction where the small dwarf had walked away, "My friend is...well, he has something on him called the Star Crystal."

The man, who had peeked his head back into the room, visibly flinched, "Let me see." He murmured gruffly.

Lloyd approached him cautiously, wondering what he was going to do, or why the dwarf had looked so...worried. Perhaps he had something to do with the crystal itself? Pulling off his jacket so that he was just in his tank-top, he revealed the mess of vein-like lines that pulsed outward from the small, purple crystal. The short man ran a dark finger over one of the veins, causing Lloyd to twitch and grimace.

"It's worse than I thought..." Altessa muttered, backing away.

"What is?" Raine asked, crossing her arms.

"Do you know how this crystal came to be?" When all he received were shaking heads, Altessa paused, wondering if he should tell them now. Shaking his head, he said, "I will tell you another time. Go get the inhibitor ore and bring it back here, then I will help your friends."

"But what if it gets worse? What if I hurt someone?" Lloyd yelled, worry evident in his eyes.

"It shouldn't worsen. Not unless you get hit by a lot of mana."

Lloyd, still looking unconvinced, stared down at his feet, _'Maybe I should stay here. That way, no one will get hurt, and I won't be around any mana.' _Looking up, his eyes held a small flare of determination, "I'm going to stay here then. That way, I have less chance of doing anything." He gave his friends a small, reassuring smile.

"I think that may be a good idea." Raine nodded, her arms still crossed.

The rest of the group looked over at the half-elf Professor, wide eyed. Still, it seemed like a reasonable thing to do, even if it was Lloyd they were talking about. Even if they knew that the brunette would never do anything to harm them. It took a couple moments, but it was decided, Lloyd would stay behind.

As they left, the twin swordsman went over to the table and sat down.

The woman, who Lloyd learned was called Tabitha, approached him, "ARE YOU HUNGRY?"

Shaking his head, he murmured, "I can't eat."

Tabitha, seeming to understand, walked away to go tell something to Altessa. Lloyd watched her for a moment, then turned his gaze towards the window, wondering what he should do while the other's were gone. Maybe he could go for a walk, or something. Deciding that it wouldn't be safe to leave, he was about to go lay down on one of the nearby beds when he heard someone call his name softly. His gaze flashed to the window, and for a moment he thought he saw a familiar auburn haired man.

Glaring, he called to Altessa, "I'm going for a walk." Before leaving the house. Why was _he_ here? More importantly, what did he want? Did he want to attack Lloyd, or maybe he was here with that blonde guy...Yggdrasil? Shaking his head, he continued walking through the woods that surrounded Altessa's house.

After a while of silence, he heard footsteps. Turning around, he glared, seeing the auburn haired angel walking towards him. Placing his hands on his swords, he prepared himself for a fight, watching his father's movements carefully.

"Lloyd...I'm glad you are alright." Was all Kratos said as he stilled his movements.

Still watching him carefully, Lloyd growled, "What do you want?"

"I was merely taking a walk." Came the simple reply.

"Oh really? You didn't come here to attack me?" The brunette asked sarcastically, still gripping the hilts of his swords, "Tell me the truth, Kratos, what do you want?" He kept his eyes on the other as he shifted his stance slightly, prepared to launch himself at the man.

"As you wish. I came to see if you were alright."

Raising his eyebrows, Lloyd couldn't help but sneer at the man, still glaring angrily, "Yeah, sure, okay. Like you still actually care about me after you practically tried to kill me and my friends." The twin swordsman was about to lunge at the man, when the angel stated.

"I am truly sorry for that, Lloyd."

For a moment, the brunette actually believed those words. The sorrow and guilt evident in Kratos's eyes was enough to make him think that he really was sorry. Then, something, perhaps it was that voice from before, told him that the auburn haired man was lying, that he was a fake, and a killer. And he wanted nothing but to hurt Lloyd.

With a shout, he lunged at Kratos. The angel easily blocked his strike, but he looked...different. As if he were worried about Lloyd. But...why would he...? Well, he was Lloyd's father after all. Breathing a sigh, Lloyd pulled back, putting his swords away.

"I...I'm sorry for that. I don't know what came over me." The twin swordsman murmured.

"It's alright, Lloyd. It isn't you, after all."

"What do you mean?" He looked up, curious.

"You already know," The angel paused, and looked away. It looked as though he had heard something. When his gaze focused back on Lloyd, it held worry once more, "You must go. Hurry, I will tell him that you got away." With that, Kratos shoved Lloyd into the trees, "Go!" He whispered harshly, and then turned around.

Lloyd turned around as soon as the trees enclosed themselves around him. Pushing aside the branches, he watched as a familiar blonde angel approached his father, weapons out, and a glare on his face.

"Where did he go?"

Kratos knelt on the ground, and shook his head, "He escaped, Lord Yggdrasil."

"Damn." The half-elf muttered. Then, his eyes widened, as if he sensed something, "No...no he's still here." Realization dawned in his eyes, "So you were attempting to protect him, eh? A futile effort." Yggdrasil turned his cold gaze towards where Lloyd was hiding, practically staring him straight in the eyes.

The brunette promptly got up and ran away, scared out of his mind of that man. He didn't want to attack anyone anymore. Especially since that angel had placed the stupid crystal on him in the first place. He was the cause of this. But Lloyd knew that he wasn't strong enough to fight him...yet.

"Oh, Lloyd! There you are!" Colette called as the swordsman came into view.

Zelos noticed the look in Lloyd's eyes and asked, "Are you alright, Bud?"

Nodding once, Lloyd attempted to calm himself, "Yeah...did you guys get the ore?"

Colette smiled happily, "Yes we did! Altessa's fixing it right now. He said you'd gone out for a walk, so Zelos and I were going to go find you, but I guess we don't have to now. Let's go inside, okay?" With that, the blonde went inside, followed by the redhead and Lloyd.

Outside lurked a presence, a presence that Lloyd hoped he would never see again. As he hid in the trees, Yggdrasil smirked, "You will soon be mine, Lloyd Aurion."

Kratos, who was standing behind the blonde, couldn't help but murmur to himself as he watched the angel in front of him, "Be safe, my son."

* * *

**_Me: _**_Hallelujah! I'm so glad I got that done. Once again, I'm really really really sorry that this took so long to post. I'll try to be quicker with my updates now. I seriously just overcame my block, so I'm hoping that these chapters will come out quicker.  
**Lloyd:** Yes. We hope, anyways. xD  
**Me:** Next chapter, explanations! Finally! Oh, and I have a request. I want some fan-art for this story. It doesn't have to be spectacular, but I want to see what you guys think of Lloyd. :D I know, selfish request, right? But please! It would make my day!  
**Lloyd:** Review, alright?  
**Me:** Yes, please do! If any of you get around to drawing, then please send me the link in a PM. :D Thanks! _


	40. Explanations and the Temple of Lightning

**Ch. 40: Explanations and the Temple of Lightning**

_**Young: **Hello everyone! :3 How are you all this fine evening?  
**Lloyd:** I'm pretty good actually.  
**Me:** I know right? I am insanely awake right now! And so I decided to type. We'll find out whether or not this was a good idea in the morning. Oh wait...it's already morning. Oh well!  
**Lloyd:** Want me to disclaim?  
**Me:** Yes! That is a wonderful idea.  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward! To story...land...? o_o_

" 'Hello.' " - Raine translating Volt

* * *

Lloyd stepped into the house, the sounds of someone working reaching his sensitive ears. Glancing towards the forge, he saw Altessa carving into something, he assumed that it was the Key Crest. Zelos led the way to the table, where everyone sat, waiting. The dwarf had promised an explanation of things after he made the crest, so they all decided to stay here and wait.

Sighing, he sat down in the chair opposite Raine. She eyed him for a moment before turning her gaze back towards Altessa, curiosity flashing in her eyes. The twin swordsman leaned into the seat, suddenly feeling drained. Did he really want to know about what was going on? What if it couldn't be fixed? Would he be forced to run away from his friends and never come back? All these questions whirled around in his mind, effectively making him dizzy.

They sat like that for about another half hour, watching the dwarf work to perfect the crest. He seemed into what he was doing, not even noticing if one of them stood close to him. When he finished, he turned and handed the small object to Raine.

"There. It's finished."

"Thank you so much!" Colette said, smiling.

Raine shifted in her seat and spoke, "Now I believe you owe us an explanation."

Altessa flinched, but nodded, "I do, don't I?" Moving he pulled up a chair towards the end of the table and sat down, "What do you want to know? I will answer your questions to the best of my ability." Tabatha hovered over his shoulder, as if she were nervous about what he was doing.

"How are you connected to the Star Crystal?" The Professor questioned.

Altessa let out a sigh. He knew that this question would have come up. He would willing answer the inquiry, but it would cost him. In the worst case, it could cost him his life. But still, they deserved to know what he'd done, "It was a project started by Yggdrasil back when Kratos betrayed him."

"Wait, Kratos? What does he have to do with this?" Lloyd asked.

"Kratos, when he betrayed Cruxis in order to save his wife, made Yggdrasil very angry. Thus I was hired to make something called the Star Crystal. Which is what you have equipped on you at the moment." The dwarf explained, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He kept glancing towards the door, expecting the leader of Cruxis to burst in any second.

Zelos rested an arm on the table, "What does it do?"

"It allows the one who places it on the person to control them by a simple blast of their mana. The gem records the signature and, when ordered to, gains control of its victim. You have already witnessed this, yes?" Altessa shifted once more, nervous.

"Yes...at the Tower of Salvation." Sheena murmured, remembering the horrible look in Lloyd's eyes. No, they hadn't been the twin swordsman's eyes, they had been someone else's. A demon, perhaps, or something of that sort. But they were definitely not Lloyd's. The brunette would never attack them like that.

Regal, having noticed Altessa's movements, asked, "What's making you so nervous?"

Altessa glanced at him, "I am not supposed to speak of this, lest I be killed."

Raine's eyes softened slightly, "We are truly grateful for you telling us this then. Tell me, is there a way to remove the gem?"

"Yes...it requires a bit of work, but if you gather the items, I may be able to make it for you. You will need a small amount of mana, mana leaf herb, and something called the Star Crest. I can make that for you, if you give me time. Go and gather those, and I will get it off for you. You may be able to get the herb from the elves. As for the mana, one of your friends should be able to provide it." The dwarf stood, "Now, go and give that crest to Presea. I will have the Star Crest made when you get back."

The group thanked him once more, and then exited the house. Lloyd shivered, suddenly feeling very, very cold. He wished that this was just a dream, that none of this had ever happened to him. Now he had to be careful, or he might attack his friends again. He didn't want that to happen. But he couldn't leave either. He had to protect them.

As they entered Ozette, they found themselves surrounded.

"There they are!" One of the Papal Knights shouted, pointing his weapon at Lloyd.

Cursing, Lloyd ran at one of the men, unsheathing his swords as his feet moved. Quickly finding the gap in his chain-linked armor, the angel turned and attacked the foe that was coming from behind him. His senses seemed heightened, as they had before. Perhaps this was an affect of the strange crystal. Shaking the thoughts away, he focused on the battle.

Soon enough, the enemies were gone, and, as they began walking towards Presea's house, Colette fell to her knees, crying out. Lloyd turned, worried. Raine knelt by her.

"What's wrong?" The half-elf questioned.

"Move. Please leave this to me." A familiar voice stated. Raine stood, recognizing the voice. Presea moved into the middle of the circle that had formed around Colette. Without warning, she swung her ax in a wide arc, almost cutting Zelos and Regal, but the two had just barely dodged the weapon.

"Good work, Presea." Came the high-pitched, nasally voice from somewhere to Raine's right.

A purple haired half-elf stepped into view, calling down two dragons as he did.

"Rodyle!" Regal cursed, muscles tensing, as if he were going to attack.

"Let's go." The Desian murmured, picking up Colette and tossing her to one of the dragons, which caught the angel in its clawed foot. Hopping on the back of the second dragon, Rodyle turned to face them, "Thank you once again, Presea, for handing over the Chosen." With that, he kicked the creature in the side and they took flight.

Lloyd moved to go after them, but Regal's voice stopped him.

"Lloyd, please help Presea."

The brunette felt the overwhelming urge to go after Colette nearly overcome him for a moment, but he pushed it back. They could save her after they helped Presea. Turning, he nodded, "Alright." Raine handed him the crest, and he stepped forward, placing it on the small girl's neck. Her eyes brightened almost immediately.

"W-what happened...?" Murmuring something about her father, she took off towards her home.

The group immediately took chase, knowing that she shouldn't see what was in that house. Unfortunately, by the time they got there, she had already seen. Regal led her away, while Lloyd, Zelos and Raine worked on getting the body out. The others worked on digging out a hole in the backyard. They had to get the body out. Presea, after calming down a little, helped with the digging.

"So have you calme-" Raine's words were cut off by a familiar voice.

"Lloyd."

Said brunette turned, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "What are you doing here?"

"Yggdrasil is looking for you. I've been trying to lead him astray, but you must be wary. Also, you must go save the Chosen. I don't know why Rodyle needs her, but it cannot be good." Kratos said, one hand kept firmly on his sword. His eyes kept glancing away from them, probably looking for the blonde Cruxis leader.

"Why should we listen to you?" Genis growled, glaring at the angel.

Instead of responding, Kratos merely ignored the question and focused his eyes on Lloyd, "Talk with the elder in the village of the elves. Tell him that I sent you. You should be allowed to collect the herb you need then." With that, he simply turned his back to them and left the area, leaving the group in confusion, as he usually did.

"Why does he always have to be so cryptic?" Lloyd muttered.

"It doesn't matter. We should be wary of his advice." Raine advised, "Anyways, let's go search for Colette. I have a feeling Mizuho may have located the Rehairds, so lets go check there first." The others agreed to this plan, and they headed out.

Sure enough, when they reached Mizuho, they were summoned to the Chief's house once more.

"We have discovered the location of the Rehairds. But before we can allow you to go and get them, Sheena must overcome one task." The Vice Chief turned his gaze to the ninja, who shuddered under his eyes, "You must forge a pact with the Summon Spirit Volt." Sheena's eyes widened, and it almost looked like she was about to cry. Before anyone could get a good look, she ran from the house.

Lloyd followed her out, worried. He found her sitting by what looked liked a grave site.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting down by her.

She turned her dark eyes to his, "I...there was an incident a while ago...I was trying to make a pact with Volt, but I failed. A lot of people died, and the Chief was put into the coma he's in now." She turned away, putting her head back in her hands, "I-I'm afraid...what if you guys get hurt too?"

"We won't." Came his simple reply.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we believe in you. Besides, you've already made a pact before. You can do this, Sheena. Trust me." Lloyd said, smiling reassuringly.

With that, it was decided.

The trip to the temple of Lightning didn't take as long as Lloyd had thought it would, though Raine seemed to be closed to passing out by the time they reached land. Chuckling mentally, he exited the EC and used the wing pack to store it away for the time being. When that was done, he followed the others into the temple.

After a long, long time of searching around the place, and avoiding dangerous and deadly lightning strikes, they had finally found their way to the altar. With a grin, Lloyd couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of another pact. What would this one bring? Would he get to see something awesome? Would it be better than the Temple of Water?

"Dammit, this is just like before! I can't understand what he's saying!" Sheena's cursing broke the brunette out of his thoughts. Following everyone's eyes upwards, he realized that there was now a big, gigantic ball of lightning floating before all of them. Two red orbs that looked kind of like eyes floated where its face would be.

"Calm down, I'll translate," Raine spoke up, " 'I am one who is bound to Mithos, who are you?' "

"I am Sheena. I ask that thou annulst thy pact with Mithos, and establish a new pact with me."

Raine aqquired a look of confusion on her face for a moment before she spoke again, "He says that his pact is broken, but he does not wish for another." Her blue gaze was focused on the giant spirit, intent on listening in case he had anything else to say.

"Why?" The ninja asked.

" 'I will have no more dealings with people, therefore I desire no pact.' "

"But we need your power!" The dark haired woman turned to the spirit, cards out.

"Look out!" Lloyd shouted, noting the sudden change in the air around them. Before he could move, a wave of lightning was shot at them, sending them all flying off the platform. Getting to his knees, he was about to run towards Sheena when he felt the air change again, but found Corrine charging forwards in his stead.

The man made summon spirit took the lightning head on, falling to the ground, limp.

"Corrine, no!" Sheena cried, running to her friend.

This time, Lloyd was there to block the strike of lightning that came at her.

"Volts just lost his faith in people. Make your vow, form the pact. You can do it, Sheena..." The weak voice of Corrine reached them all, and brought tears to Sheena's eyes. As the spirit faded away, the ninja got to her feet, determined not to give in to Volt. Turning to face the lightning spirit, she glared, holding firmly onto her cards.

"For the sake of everyone who's protected me. Volt, I demand your power!"

Thus, the battle ensued. Lloyd charged forward, making sure to avoid the numerous lightning strikes that came towards him as he did. Slashing, he saw a spark of electricity run up his sword, and dashed away. Turning to Zelos, Genis and Raine, he shouted, "Use magic!" Before charging back into distract the spirit once more.

In minutes, the fight was over.

" 'Very well, I accept your strength.' " Raine said, panting slightly as she translated.

Volt disappeared slightly, before something weird happened. Undine suddenly appeared next to him.

"A link has been broken." The Summon Spirit of Water stated.

" 'The flow of mana between the two worlds has been...' severed...?" She shook her head, not really understanding what the Summon Spirit of Lightning meant, "What does that mean?"

"We do not know for sure, just that the mana that connects the two worlds, the exact mana that they vie for, has been severed." Undine responded, crossing her watery blue arms. Genis stared up at her, perplexed, but also looking like had an idea.

"So if we sever all the mana flows, does that mean that the worlds will split apart?"

" 'We do not know. It remains to be seen.' " The older half-elf spoke, " 'All we know is that the mana links connecting the two worlds will disappear.' "

With that, the two summon spirits disappeared.

"Well...that was interesting." Zelos said with a grin, "Anyways, lets go get those Rehairds, shall we?"

The rest of the group nodded, and though tired, headed off towards Mizuho.

* * *

**_Me: _**_Wooh! That was a long one. xD But I wanted to get through the Temple of Lightning before I finished this so...anyways, I hoped the part with Altessa wasn't too confusing. If you have questions, feel free to ask. :3  
**Lloyd:** So review! Or she won't update anymore!  
**Me:** Adios, y'all. Review? _


	41. Rehairds and Rescue

**Ch. 41: Rehairds and Rescue**

_**Young:** Hello and welcome to another installment of Tales of the Forgotten Memories! So yeah...this stories gonna be over soon D: I can't wait for it to be done, and yet...I'm kinda sad...Well, I AM happy for all the positive feedback I've gotten so far. It makes me smile :D But yeah...there's only about five or six more chapters.  
**Lloyd:** Believe it or not, I might miss it too...  
**Me:** Really? Wow. o_o That's odd.  
**Lloyd:** No it's not! T^T Anyways, want me to disclaim?  
__**Me:** Yessir!  
__**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
__**Me:** Onward!_

* * *

Lloyd and the other's approached the building with cautiousness. Orochi stood out front, silently waiting for them to reach the door. A Renegade stood by him, and the twin swordsmen tensed, one hand placed on his weapon, ready to draw it if the need arose. They were told to go here by the Vice Chief, who briefly congratulated Sheena on her victory with the pact. Then, they had departed, and had spent nearly four hours tracking the base down.

"Who is this?" Raine questioned, suspicion barely hidden in her blue gaze.

Orochi smiled faintly, "This is one of our spies. He's currently on watch out here, and will allow us entrance into the building." The ninja explained before turning and entering the building. The rest of the group hurried after him, not wanting to be left outside this place. What if they were seen on a surveillance system?

When they entered the building, they were led to a small room. Orochi stood by a table, waiting patiently for the other's to file in, "This is where our base will be. If you feel like you want to rest, come here. This room has been secured by the rest of our spies." With that, the ninja sat down, "The door you're looking for is guarded by a pass code. You will need to find the three guards carrying the hints before you can get to the hangar." He handed a map of the building to Regal, and then continued, "I wish you all good luck."

Smiling in thanks, Lloyd nodded and led the way out of the room.

Hours later, after nearly being seen multiple times, tracking down guards, and fighting useless battles, the group found themselves standing in front of a large door, the three pass codes held in Raine's hands. Stepping forward, the half-elf began hitting some buttons on the machine sitting next to the door. After a moment, the object beeped, and the door opened.

"So you've come, like moths to the flame." A blue haired man walked out of the shadows.

"What a cliched line." Zelos commented, drawing his sword.

"Shut up. Lloyd, you will be ours." Without warning, the half-elf dashed forward, and said angel barely had time to get his weapons out before he was attacked by the double edged sword. Yuan glared, jumping back and then waving over someone. Botta walked into view, and drew his own weapon. And so the battle began.

Lloyd's wings were out without a moment's hesitation. He had to win this fight, he had to go and rescue Colette. With those thoughts in mind, he found himself relentlessly attacking the Renegade leader. Every move that Yuan made seemed to be slowed down, and Lloyd found it extremely easy to dodge the swipes of the blade. Thrusting forward with one of his blades, he turned and blocked a strike from Botta.

Sheena came at that point and slammed one of her cards into the brown haired half-elf's side, shouting, "Pyre Seal!" With that, the man flew back. The ninja didn't give up, and went after him to make sure that he would stay down. Lloyd turned his attention back to his own fight, and found that Regal and Presea had joined him in his battle.

Grinning, he felt a surge of energy envelope him and jumped into the air. Pulling his wings tight to himself, he darted downwards, slashing both swords towards Yuan and yelling, "Rising Falcon!" It was a new technique he'd discovered, and it was very helpful, especially when he had his wings out. The blue haired half-elf caught the blades on his shoulder, but moved away before they could dig in too deep. Frowning, Lloyd gave chase, still not giving up.

A bolt of lightning slammed down on Yuan, knocking him to the ground.

Landing in front of the Renegade leader, he stated, "Give up." His left sword was pointed towards the man's throat, waiting to see if he would actually give in, or if he would just get up and continue his assault.

Before anyone could say anything, however, an earthquake shook the room. Lloyd fell to his knees, but managed to keep his balance and not fall completely. Yuan, who was in the midst of getting to his own knees, fell to the ground. Sheena decided this was her chance and dashed towards the middle of the hangar, somehow managing to stay on her feet. Typing in a few commands, the dark haired woman watched as the Rehairds came into view.

"Lloyd, come on, let's go!"

The brunette nodded and stood, running over to the machines.

And with that, they flew out and into the open skies.

"Ahh...glad to be out of there, yeah?" Zelos said, crossing his arms behind his head as he casually maneuvered his Rehaird through the open skies. Lloyd grinned and nodded. Though he was still worried about Colette. What did Rodyle want with her? More importantly, was she still alright? Was she hurt?

"Look over there!" Genis shouted, pointing towards a distant shape.

Lloyd squinted, "It looks like an island..."

Raine concentrated for a moment, then opened her eyes once more, "I can sense Colette's mana signature."

"Let us go then." Presea commented.

When they arrived, Lloyd couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Colette stood in the middle of a giant orange ring. She seemed unharmed, but her face was slightly pale. Maybe whatever had been affecting her was still affecting her? Worriedly, he took a step forward, but the blonde angel reached a hand towards him, shaking her head.

"No, don't come any closer. You all need to get out of here, it's a-"

Her voice was cut off by the sound of a deep growl. Just like that, two dragons landed in front of them. The head of what seemed to be a giant dragon appeared out of one of the various holes in the island. Backing up slightly, Lloyd glared, and took out his wings. He knew that there was little chance of them actually escaping off of this island without having to fight, considering the the dragons could fly, and the fact that the island was so small.

"Dammit! We gotta fight them!"

Charging forwards, he engaged one of the smaller dragons.

After a few moments, the battle was over. The larger one had primarily been taken out by Lloyd, considering he was the only one who could get high enough to actually attack its head. The fight had gone exceptionally well, with only a few minor scratches and injuries. A couple burns here and there, for apparently dragons could breathe fire, though Raine had told him that that was an obvious fact.

"Colette, I'm so glad you're alright." Lloyd said, moving to take a step towards her. As soon as his foot touched the ground, however, an orange force-field grew outward, enveloping all of them. Suddenly he could no longer move, and it felt like he was being crushed by some hidden force. Grinding his teeth, he fought to take even one step, but it felt like all his limbs were bound by iron shackles.

"I told you shouldn't have come here...I'm so useless..." The blonde angel murmured.

"You were fools to come here. And now you all shall die along with that useless Chosen!" The familiar voice of a purple haired Desian rang out through the air around them. Turning his gaze, Lloyd saw the man sitting on a flying dragon. Grinning wickedly, Rodyle cackled as he turned and fled, the dragon speeding both of them away from the island.

Presea narrowed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and stood, "No, Colette is not useless. She is our friend." The small girl pushed forward, somehow managing to trudge through the force-field. Lifting her ax, she swung downward, cutting the machine that held Colette in half. Crying out, she felt to the ground as if she had been shocked.

"Let's get out of here!" Regal called, and, having been freed from the strange clutches of whatever had been there, ran forward to pick up Presea. The other's agreed and hopped on the Rehairds. They got out of there as quickly as they could, and decided on heading back to Altessa's house.

Lloyd smiled, happy to have Colette back.

During the night at Altessa's house, Lloyd, Raine, Regal and Zelos sat around the table. Everyone was asleep. The brunette placed a hand on his chin. They were trying to decide what they should do first. Lloyd, of course, insisted on going forth with the mana link plan, but Raine and Zelos both thought that it would be best to attempt to get the items needed to remove the crystal from Lloyd. Regal agreed with Lloyd, and thus, they were debating on what to do.

"Seriously, I can wait. Besides, saving the worlds is more important."

"What if you attack us again?" Raine countered, eyes narrowed.

Zelos nodded, "Yeah, Bud, this really can't be held off any longer."

It took a few more minutes of arguing before Lloyd finally gave in, "Alright, fine. We'll go to Heimdall tomorrow." Standing, he stretched, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go stargaze for a bit, alright? See you guys in the morning." The brunette exited the house, taking out his wings and going up to a small cliff that hung over the top of Altessa's house. Turning his gaze towards the sky, he sighed.

Then, with a sudden jerk, he was grabbed. Before he could shout anything, a cloth was shoved into his mouth, and he felt something slam into the back of his neck. Crying out silently, he felt his eyelids begin to slip close. What...what was going on? He twitched, attempting to break free of whoever's grasp he was in, before he passed out completely. But, the grip was too strong. With one last flail, he felt himself slip into unconsciousness.

_-Dream_

_Lloyd floated in the all to familiar darkness. Really, this was getting old. But, before he had a chance to complain, or say anything at all, a face appeared before his eyes. It was a man, well, what looked more like a demon than a man. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were a piercing red. Large horns sprouted from his head, and a tail whipped out behind him._

"Go to sleep, o child of mine." _His voice was oddly soothing. Lloyd felt himself drifting off, but another voice rang out in his thoughts. It was his mother's again, but she sounded further away this time. Quieter, like she was standing at the other side of a large room._

"Don't listen to him, Lloyd! Wake up, you must wake up!"_ She sounded urgent, and Lloyd, being one who would listen to his parent's, began to struggle against the wave of exhaustion that had washed over him. This was all too familiar to the first dream, but this time, he found it harder to fight. He kept on struggling, though, despite the fact that his eyes were beginning to close._

_"I...I can't fight anymore..." He murmured, tired beyond all means._

"Yes, give in to your exhaustion. I will protect you." _The mans voice spoke once more._

_As his eyes closed, Lloyd felt himself being enveloped in a chilling embrace. But by now, he could no longer fight. He didn't have the energy. Something that resembled a wicked grin appeared on the man's face as Lloyd slowly drifted to sleep._

_-Reality_

Somewhere in the real world, the blue exsphere on Lloyd's hand cracked.

* * *

**_Me: _**_So how was it? I really, really liked this one. Plus it was an early update! You all should be proud! xD Even if it was kind of short. Oh well.  
**Lloyd:** Oh dear...this is beginning to frighten me...  
**Me:** Too bad! Anyways, review! They make me smile! And that doesn't happen too often anymore... _


	42. Escaping the Tower

**Chapter 42: Escaping the Tower**

**_Young: _**_So here it is. Took longer than I had hoped, but its here none the less. I'm starting to get a bit lazy with this, mostly because I don't want it to end yet. But it has to happen some time, sadly. So, any thoughts before we continue, Lloyd?  
**Lloyd:** Not really...  
**Me:** Alrighty then. Disclaimer please?  
__**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** Onward! Oh and before I do anything, this is not the last chapter, in case my previous words mislead you to think that. Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

__When Lloyd's eyes opened, he gasped, sitting up, but found that he couldn't move. Everything that surrounded him was white, in comparison to the dark world he'd been in previously. Staring around at the room he was in, he noted that even the floor was a pure white color. It burned his eyes. Sighing, he realized that there was no door.

"Hey! Anybody there?" He shouted, attempting to gain someones attention.

After waiting a moment, and receiving no response, he stood. Walking over to one of the walls, he ran a hand along it, trying to figure out if there was some kind of hidden door or something. Having found nothing, he sighed once more and sat back down in what looked like the middle of the room. He noted, though, as he sat down, that his footsteps hadn't echoed like they should have. It was like they would make a sound, and then the sound waves would stop.

Something was odd about the air in the room too. It seemed ominous, threatening almost. Narrowing his chocolate eyes, he peered around the room once more. Nothing had moved, nothing had changed, and yet he felt an increase in the maliciousness of the atmosphere. Feeling a bit frightened, he stood again and whirled around. There was nothing but empty space behind him. As he moved to turn again, a loud cracking sound reached his ears.

A crack had appeared in the floor.

Eyes wide, he backed away from it, but it only seemed to follow him.

Before long the walls, the rest of the floor, even the ceiling was filled with large cracks. As the tile beneath his feet began to fall away, he cried out, releasing his wings. Unbelievable pain erupted from his spine, nearly causing him to black out. The half-formed appendages faded, leaving him to fall into the steadily increasing darkness.

Lloyd yelled out one last time, reaching towards the pieces of the white room as they fell around him.

xXxXx

Zelos muttered a curse as he picked read and reread the piece of paper clutched in his gloved hand. How dare that bastard? He'd said that he wouldn't bother with Lloyd until the time they got to the Tower. By that point, Zelos was hoping that the twin swordsman would...but there was no point in that now. He had to tell the others.

Dashing back inside, he found Raine and the rest of the group gathered at the large table in the middle. The teacher glanced at the paper in his hands and narrowed her eyes, probably already coming to a conclusion about what had happened. Genis, however, looked the redhead in the eyes, worried.

"Did you find him?" Came the small boys question.

"No...he wasn't out there, but I did find this." He held up the small piece of paper, "It's from Cruxis's leader, Yggdrasil." With that he walked over to Raine and handed her the letter, assuming that she was the most reasonable of the group and would probably handle this the best.

"I knew it..." She murmured, setting the note down.

"What happened? Where's Lloyd?" Colette questioned, fear evident on her face.

Raine shook her head, watching as Genis and Regal scanned the note.

"So...so he wants Colette then...?" The young half-elf asked, looking up at Raine. The older sibling nodded sadly. Genis shook his head angrily, glaring, "That jerk! He knows that we won't wanna give up Colette!" Cursing mentally, for fear that he would be hit by Raine if he'd actually said it, the mage looked towards his sister, "So what now?"

"We go to the Tower, and we try to forcefully take Lloyd back. Hopefully we can overpower Yggdrasil just enough so that Lloyd can break free. Anyways, its our only option." Regal commented, one hand on his chin. The blue haired fighter's eyes were narrowed, as if he were truly trying to find some other way out of this situation. What if something went wrong? But it truly was there only choice.

"I agree." Raine stated.

"In that case, we have to go to the Southeastern Abbey. My Cruxis Crystal is there, and we'll need that to get into the Tower." Zelos said. He'd originally planned on waiting for this to happen, but now that wasn't important. The only important thing was that he didn't have a deal with Yggdrasil anymore, so he could now do what he liked, even if it meant remaining the Chosen.

"Let's go then. We've gotta save Lloyd!" Colette said, eagerly exiting the house.

xXxXx

Lloyd couldn't help but claw at the large chucks of white that flew past him as he fell. Though...it really couldn't be called falling. It was more like he was drifting downwards, when compared to the pieces of the room that soared towards the ground around him. He didn't know why his wings hadn't come out. Maybe something was wrong with them?

With a look of determination, he attempted to bring them out again, only to find himself screaming in agony seconds later. They'd only barely materialized before the waves of pain hit him. Curling up as best he could, he tried to ignore the growing hurt from his back as he tried to take them out again. He was falling faster now, and if he didn't stop...well, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Help!" He shouted, fearing that he would lose his life.

_'There is no help for you here, boy.' _A chillingly familiar voice spoke in his ear.

"Wh...what..?" He questioned the demonic voice. It was the man from before! The one who'd told him to sleep...and...what had happened after that? His eyes widened when he realized that he'd actually given in. But what did that mean? Where was he now? More importantly, who was the voice? Where had he come from?

"Lloyd!" Another voice shouted.

Without hesitation, he yelled back, "Kratos! Where are you?"

A hand appeared in the darkness, reaching towards him. He grimaced, but uncurled himself and stretched out his own hand, attempting to grab the other. Surely it would lead him to safety, for peacefulness seemed to radiate from it in waves of light. His gloved fingers brushed the other's, and for a moment, he had a grip, but then his hand slipped.

Crying out, he felt arms wrap around him from behind.

_'There is no escape.'_

"Lloyd, you must try!" The voice was urgent, just as his mother's had been.

Determination burned within him, and he remembered how it had felt when he'd given into the other man. He knew that he'd heard his mother cry, and he never wanted to hear that sound again. Growling, he shoved away from the arms, and reached out again. This time, he forced himself upwards, trying to bring out his wings to give him a boost upwards. They appeared for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to push him towards the hand.

With a small smile, he gripped it tightly, and felt himself being pulled from the darkness.

xXxXx

When his eyes opened, he found himself lying on the floor. Blood was spattered all around him. Eyes widening with every passing moment, he sat up quickly, and felt a wave of dizziness overcome him. Vision blurring, he tried to look around and see who was bleeding. As his vision cleared, he cried out, falling back to the ground.

"Stay still, you've lost a lot of blood." A nearby voice murmured.

"Wha...?" He tried to ask, but even talking hurt.

Kratos glanced down at his son. They needed to get out of here quickly if Lloyd was going to even have a chance of escaping. Yggdrasil had probably already figured out that they had gone. Murmuring under his breath he cast a healing spell, making sure to get all of the larger wounds. It was amazing what one could do to themselves with mere fingernails.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked as he felt his wounds healing.

"You were dreaming, or something of the sort, and started to attack yourself." Kratos stated, a slight hint of worry in his voice. Helping Lloyd to his feet, he murmured, "We need to get you out of here. Follow me." Without waiting for a reply, he exited the room. Lloyd dashed out after him, feeling like he'd been crushed by a piano. But at least he wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Where are we?" The twin swordsman questioned.

"We are in Cruxis' base. Yggdrasil captured you while you were at Altessa's."

The brunette thought back to the time before he'd been unconscious, "Ah...I remember. That bastard! Did he get Colette too?"

Kratos shook his head, "No. He was planning on using you as bait to have your friends bring the Chosen here. Then he was going to make you kill them. That's why I got you out of your cell and carried you this far, until you started thrashing, of course. Now, this is no time to talk, we must move quickly." The auburn haired man fell silent, picking up his pace.

By the time they'd warped to the seal room of the Tower, Kratos could sense Lloyd's friends mana signatures not too far off. Leading the way down the stairs, he heard Lloyd gasp behind him. Turning around, the angel tilted his head questioningly. The other merely pointed at the only pillar in the Tower that was broken.

"I...I broke that!"

The mercenary nodded, but grabbed Lloyd's hand and pulled him onward, "That will be explained to you later. You must get out of here, now. Your friends are nearly here. Wait outside the Tower for them, I will tell Yggdrasil that you managed to escape when he arrives." With that, Kratos began pushing the twin swordsman towards the exit.

"But, why would you help me? You're a member of Cruxis." Lloyd questioned.

"Because you are my son."

As those words finally registered in Lloyd's head, the door to the seal room of the Tower closed behind him. He came face to face with Zelos, who had been just about to step into the doorway. A smile broke out onto the redhead's face, "Bud! You're alright!" The Chosen threw an arm around the other's shoulder, grinning like a fool.

"Did you manage to escape?" Raine asked, crossing her arms.

Lloyd nodded, though he wasn't really listening.

"We should leave." Presea stated from the back of the group.

Having all agreed, they turned and fled the Tower.

* * *

**_Me: _**_So there you have it! Next chapter, Heimdall. Then after that, well, you'll see. xD I can't just go and tell you everything, now can I?  
**Lloyd:** Either that or you just don't have any idea what's going to happen after that.  
**Me:** -hits Lloyd with newspaper- Oh shush! Anyways, review? Pweeese? :D _


	43. The Village of the Elves

**Ch. 43: The Village of the Elves**

_**Young:** Here's another chapter for you! Be happy! :D Oh, and Happy Easter! That goes to you too, Lloydie.  
**Lloyd:** Yeah...okay. What's that again?  
__**Me:** Nothing. xD Anyways, care to disclaim?  
__**Lloyd:** My, this was brief wasn't it?  
__**Me:** Yes, I suppose it was. Oh well. Disclaim me, fool!  
__**Lloyd:** Oh alright. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
__**Me:** Onward, to storyland! Oh yeah, one thing. I'm gonna leave the little elf boy out of this because that's kind of a waste of my time. They don't get much out of it, so yeah...xD Enjoy._

* * *

Lloyd and the other's sprinted from the tower, faster than they thought they could go. The brunette was deathly afraid that the crazy Cruxis leader would come after him again, so he pushed himself to full speed, despite his tiredness and the fact that he had been cut almost to pieces less than thirty minutes ago. He was happy to once again breathe fresh air into his painful lungs. Clutching at his chest, he continued forward, glad to see that his friends had taken the recently acquired Rehairds here. He hopped on a red one and took off into the air, the rest of the group following suit.

"So Lloyd, any idea why Yggdrasil wanted you so bad?" Zelos asked

Lloyd shook his head, "It mighta been because of the crystal thing, but I don't really know."

"Do you know why it was Kratos who told us that you were being held by Cruxis?" Raine's voice reached his heightened ears.

"You should know the answer to that, Raine." Sheena spoke up, sending her Rehaird forward so that she was flying next to Raine. They flew in a sort of box formation. Regal, Presea, Colette and Genis at the back and Raine, Zelos, Sheena and Lloyd at the front. It made them look a bit more like birds to the people who might end up seeing them from below. That and they flew pretty high so that most of the clouds in the hid the colorful machines.

"I suppose so. So now I guess we'll be going to Heimdall?" Genis questioned. The rest of the group agreed.

They landed just outside of the Ymir forest, throwing the Rehairds into the wing pack before entering slowly. Animals and such moved out of their way, probably sensing the strange mana that radiated from the mixed races in the group. Lloyd led the way, eyeing the glowing ball on the platform before him. Holding out the Sorcerer's Ring, he let it absorb the energy from it and then held the ring out in front of him. It made an odd noise, sounding something like a drum. Tilting his head, he looked towards Raine.

"Do you know what this does?"

The white haired half-elf took the ring from him and glanced it, then at the stump that sat next to the platform. There was a strange looking flower on it.

"Try standing on that and then use the Ring."

Lloyd nodded and climbed up onto the large piece of tree. Glancing around, he held out the ring, and noted that the drum noise was much louder now. Suddenly, the sound of running hooves reached his ears. Looking up from the ring, he saw a boar charging towards them. Shouting, he warned the others. They moved just in time to see the boar slam into the tree behind him. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and brushing his gloved fingers against the crystal. It felt oddly warm, but he ignored it and hopped down from the stump.

"Well, don't know that's gonna help us. Let's continue on in."

Having agreed on a course of action they set off deeper into the forest, following the path of wooden bridges laid out before them. It took a fairly long while, and much of the ways they went ended in dead ends, but eventually they saw what looked to be an exit. Lloyd, still in the lead, led the way over the bridges to the break in the seemingly endless expanse of trees.

"Hey guys, I think this is the way out." Lloyd said, grinning.

Before they could actually walk towards the faint gate in the distance, a deep male voice spoke.

"What do you humans and half-elves think you are doing here? Only elves are allowed into the village of Heimdall." A male elf questioned, pointing his spear at Lloyd.

"A dwarf named Altessa told us that we could find Mana Leaf Herb here, or at least get pointed in the right direction." Colette said, "Can we please have some? We need it to help our friend." Her blue eyes bore into the elves, silently pleading with him to let them into the village. He glared quietly back, pondering whether or not he should believe her. After all, they had half-elves with them.

A voice spoke from behind the guard, "Let them in." An old, old elf walked out from his hiding spot, staring intently at Lloyd, "but on one condition."

"What is it?" Lloyd asked, staring back at the Elder.

"The half-elves must stay out of the village."

"Alright, we will stay here then." Raine spoke up.

Lloyd looked at her, "But that's not fair!"

"Either they stay out, or you don't get in, and I suggest that you do come in for you will be needing that herb very soon." The old man turned, leaving the group to stare at him as he walked away. Lloyd heaved a sigh and glanced at the guard, wondering if they could take him out and somehow sneak into the village. A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he turned to see who it was. Raine stared at him, shaking her head.

"No, Lloyd. It's alright. Go on and get the herb. We will be here when you get back."

The brunette looked indecisive for a moment, but he gave in, nodding. He headed into the village, the others following behind him. Raine and Genis stood just outside the gate, watching their friends as they disappeared into the maze of houses and shops. Lloyd gripped his swords, ignoring the stares of the elves as they walked towards the western edge of the village. The guard from the gate went with them, leading them towards the Elder's house. The twin swordsman had guessed that the old man from before was probably the leader around here, considering he had so much pull with the watch-elves. Enough to allow even human's into the village.

"Here we are. I will wait out here. If any of you even try to do anything, I will not hesitate to destroy you. And be polite to the Elder, for he deserving of respect."

Lloyd nodded to the guard and walked up the stairs into the Elder's house.

"Lloyd Aurion, I have been expecting you for some time now. Ever since Kratos came and asked about the Mana Leaf Herb." The old elf faced the window, his back to the group, "He spoke of you, and how you would not do harm to our village. He said that you were deserving of the herb." The Elder turned to them, his wrinkled face set in a frown, but his eyes showed a twinkle of youth, despite his aged appearance, "I believe him. Now, you are very lucky. We have recently just obtained some of the herb, and will be willing to part with it."

Lloyd tilted his head, wondering about how easy this was. There had to be some catch, "And what do you want in return?"

"Nothing. I do not believe that what has been done to you is right. It is an offense to any race, and thus should be dealt with accordingly. Though I don't know how anyone could have created it. The records of the Star Crystal were supposed to have been destroyed seventeen years ago. Someone may have missed a part, of a part of the book may have been saved. I am unsure. But it doesn't matter now." The elf elder turned and picked up a small box. Turning around, he held it out to Lloyd, "Here. This contains the herb that you need."

The angel took it, smiling slightly, "Thank you so much."

"If you truly wish to repay us for this, then please destroy the remaining part to the book." With that, the Elder fell silent, and turned his back on the group once more.

Lloyd thanked him once more and exited the house, the others following him out.

"Well, Bud, you handled that nicely." Zelos commented, folding his hands behind his head.

"Thanks. I-" His words were cut off as a jolt of pain ran down his spine. Crying out loudly, he clutched his neck and fell to his knees, tears forming in his eyes at the amount of agony that he felt. He could feel himself fading from consciousness, and murmured, "No..." for he knew what was happening. The team gathered around him, Zelos kneeling beside him and preparing to cast a healing spell. Suddenly, a wave of negative, dark mana pulsed outward from the fallen teen. Zelos pushed himself away, eyes stinging at the foul smell of the energy.

_"You fools. You think it would be that easy? You think I would allow you to destroy everything I have worked so hard to create?" _Lloyd, or what used to be Lloyd, pushed himself to his feet. His hair had grown longer, reaching to his mid back, and had gained a red sheen. His eyes were once again that dead, black that had haunted Sheena's nightmares for so long. He growled inhumanly, reaching for his swords.

"I sense danger." Presea murmured, her voice sounding frighteningly robotic.

Before "Lloyd" could move another muscle, he collapsed to the ground, the exsphere on his hand glowing a bright blue before dimming. The crack on it suddenly deeper, and more noticeable. A presence made itself known from behind the group, and they turned to see who it was. The Elder looked grimly at them, walking towards the collapsed figure of Lloyd.

"I fear it may be too late to help him." The elf murmured.

"No, there is still time. But we must hurry. I will take him to Altessa's." A familiar voice spoke up. Everyone looked around for who had spoken, and found Kratos kneeling by Lloyd, his blue wings appearing behind him. He glanced at the others, knowing that they probably wouldn't let him leave so easily. Surprisingly, he found Zelos staring directly at him, but he didn't look like he was preparing to attack. Instead, his arms were crossed, and his mouth was set into a frown. Other than that, he looked calm. Or as calm as a person whose friend just turned into a demon type thing could look, anyways.

"You're his father right? Take him, and hurry. We'll be there soon." The redhead stated, before the others could protest.

Kratos gave him an appreciative look before carefully picking up Lloyd and warping away.

"Don't worry, he's in good hands." The Elder commented quietly.

The other's ignored him and headed for the exit of the village.

* * *

_**Me:** So, what'd you think?  
__**Lloyd:** I'm still frightened.  
__**Me:** Well, you shouldn't be. Anyways, there you have it. Once again, Happy Easter. :D Don't forget to review! Y'all come back now, ya hear?  
**Lloyd:** Yeah...something like that. Review! _


	44. The Crest

**Ch. 44: The Crest**

**_Young: _**_So here we are, another chapter. It's been a long time, I know, but I got hit with a wave of work from school, and the fact that well, I haven't had the energy to get out of bed lately. Can't wait until I move out so I can go see a doctor about that. But, well, sorry. Here's an update though...-hesitant smile-  
**Lloyd:** I wouldn't worry about it too much. If they're loyal, they probably won't mind too much.  
**Me:** YOU wouldn't, but I do.  
**Lloyd:** Good point...  
**Me:** Anyways, disclaim me so we can get this story rollin'.  
**Lloyd:** Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** I'm kinda getting tired of those. But oh well. Onward!_

* * *

Lloyd awoke to a pure darkness. God dammit! It had happened again! That creepy spirit, or whatever the heck it was, had taken over him again. What did it want with him, anyways? He'd never done anything to deserve this, had he? He didn't remember anything. Sitting up, he felt a wave of nausea hit him. He doubled over, clutching his stomach and resisting the urge to get sick.

Leaning against something that felt like a wall, he breathed deeply, trying to control the feeling of dizziness overcoming him. After a moment, he managed to pull himself together enough to actually look around his surroundings. Not that there was much to look at. Just plain old darkness. Then he noticed that there was almost a faint glow coming from the 'wall' behind him.

Pushing away from the surface, he turned around to examine it. There was a large white room on the other side of what seemed to be an invisible wall. Glass, perhaps? He couldn't quite tell. What worried him the most, was the large crack that extended across the floor for as far as he could see. Eyes wide, he stood, wincing as his stomach lurched, but he pressed on. He began to walk along the wall, following it with his hand, but found that there was no entrance to the other side.

A sudden memory hit him. The last time he'd been trapped in this place, he was _in _that white room! That was the crack that had torn the floor apart. But somehow, somehow the room had been put back together, save for the crevice in the middle. Despite his revelation, he knew that it was impossible to get over there.

Sighing, he sat with his back to the wall, wishing his friends were there.

xXxXx

Kratos found himself standing outside Altessa's house. Lloyd was still clutched in his arms, and he thought for a moment that his son twitched, but looked down and saw no movement. With determination in his gaze, he approached the house and practically kicked the door down. The dwarf inside looked up, and noted the angel clutched in the older mans arms.

"You have good timing. I just finished. Lie him on a bed in one of those rooms." The grey haired man gestured towards a set of doors off to the right of the table he was standing by. Kratos nodded and headed towards the designated area. Altessa grabbed the finished crest from the table and turned to follow the Seraph.

"Hurry. I don't know how much longer he will stay unconscious." Kratos informed.

Altessa nodded, "So he has entered the final stages then?" Without waiting for a reply, he gestured for the other to remove Lloyd's jacket. Once that was off, he gently turned the twin swordsman so that he was on his stomach. The veins on his back had only gotten worse since the last time they'd looked. Cringing, the dwarf readied the small circular object in his hand, "Hold him down." He murmured.

Kratos obliged, grabbing his sons arms.

It was then that "Lloyd's" eyes snapped open.

_"What the hell do you think you are doing?" _The dark voice growled. As Lloyd's hair began to grow again, the demon began to thrash, hissing and spitting in anger. Kratos clutched the younger's arms, jaw set in a frown. Glancing up at Altessa, he gave a sharp nod, motioning for him to get on with it.

"Here we go." With that, the dwarf pulled the crest that held the Star Crystal in place off and then pressed the new crest onto it.

The demon on the bed let out a loud, ear piercing shriek before falling completely still.

"Now it's all up to Lloyd..." Kratos murmured, releasing his son's arms.

xXxXx

Lloyd's eyes snapped open, only to find that he was not in his own world. But something was different. It took a moment for him to notice that the ground he was sitting on was no longer the odd, black color. It was white. His eyes widened, and he glanced towards where the crack used to be. But it was gone. For some reason that realization made him smile.

He turned his gaze to the wall. Sure enough, the blackness he'd been in previously lay on the other side of the glass this time. But it was not empty as the white space had been. Instead, a man lay on the ground, writhing in pain. He could tell that the other was shouting, but the brunette couldn't hear any of it. For that, he was glad.

"Are you alright?" He tried to call out.

Suddenly the mans face was pressed against the glass, his black eyes boring holes in to Lloyd's brown ones. Screaming, he jumped away, breathing heavily. A pale hand placed itself on the glass before the stranger fell to the ground once more and began to writhe again. Lloyd slowly scooted forward, wondering what was wrong.

A dark, frightening voice echoed throughout the white 'room'.

_"You cannot escape me."_

Clutching at his ears, Lloyd tried to block the voice out, but found that it penetrated his skull, like a knife pushing through the bone and into his very being. Crying out, he fell to his knees, hands holding him up. Pain wracked his body, causing his muscles and arms to spasm, and in the process, he fell onto his stomach.

_"There is no hope."_

When he found the strength to look up again, he found that the man was staring through the glass again, a smirk on his face. There was no sign of the pain that had earlier afflicted him. Instead, it seemed like all of it had been cast onto Lloyd. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself into a sitting position, trying to ignore the agony that seemed to flow through his veins.

"Who are you?" The brunette questioned, his voice cracking.

_"I am the Star Crystal. You cannot escape me, Lloyd. Do not think that you have even a slim chance at surviving. I _will _have control. Not even the exsphere on your hand can stop me. Though I must admit, she put up quite a fight." _The demon across him spoke casually, as if he were discussing the weather.

Confused, Lloyd asked, "She?"

_"The spirit of your mother. She lives inside that petty gem."_

"Do notinsult my mother!" Lloyd growled, "And I'll never give in to you!"

_"Try as much as you like. It will all be fruitless in the end."_

Suddenly, Lloyd was overcome with a feeling of calmness. Like a hand had been placed on his shoulder, and he had become completely devoid of his previous anger. He could sense someone behind him, but when he turned his head to look, there was no one there. But he knew what he had to do now, and he knew that he could do it as well.

_"Do not give up hope, Lloyd. As long as you have that hope, you will win this battle." _A woman's voice spoke from behind him.

_"Ignorant woman! You actually believe this weakling has the strength to defeat me? Not even yourself, one of the most powerful exspheres created, could stop me from taking over!" _The dark being was on his feet now, hands pressed against the wall, and eyes filled with cold fury. Lloyd was suddenly very aware of the fact that there was only a thin sheet of glass between them and nothing more.

_"Lloyd is stronger than you."_

_"No one is stronger than me, woman. You of all beings should know this."_

Lloyd felt a surge of determination within himself after hearing that, and he closed his eyes, focusing on the fact that he wanted to go home. That he wanted to be able to see his friends again. Heck, he would even take Sebastian. Just as long as he regained some form of normalcy. Before he felt his consciousness leave him, he heard the chilling voice of the crystal ring through his head one last time.

_"This is not over, Lloyd. Not even for a moment."_

* * *

**_Me: _**_So, so, so, so? What'd you think? :D I worked hard on it! Despite how long it took...yeah...really sorry about that...D:  
**Lloyd:** Don't worry! Be happy!  
**Me:** I'll give it my best shot. But yeah, there's seriously only like, two chapters left. xD It's coming to an end! And I have to say, I think this one is my favorite stories yet.  
**Lloyd:** I suppose. So anyways, REVIEW ALL OF YOU._


	45. Repercussions

**Ch. 45: Repercussions**

**_Young: _**_Wow...we're almost at the end. One more chapter, then we're done. I'm seriously...kind of shocked at how many of you have stuck with me this whole time. I mean, I'm insanely grateful for it, and I'm so so so happy at the amount of positive feedback I've gotten from this, but I'm shocked people actually put up with my bad update times. xD I really appreciate everything you all have said over these past...months? Years? I don't even remember.  
**Lloyd:** Well, you've got some loyal fans, I guess.  
**Me:** I suppose I do. I'm glad for that.  
**Lloyd:** Do you want me to disclaim?  
**Me:** Go ahead. -steps aside-  
**Lloyd:** Young DOESN'T OWN ToS or Namco.  
**Me:** -jumps back in- That's kind of obvious by now, isn't it? xD Anyways, onward!_

* * *

When Lloyd woke, he felt pain. Nothing else, no sadness, no fear, just pure pain. Which was probably a good thing. It meant that he was actually awake this time. Not stuck in some dark, empty space in his mind. As his vision cleared, he realized that the place on the back of his neck where the crystal lay was burning. But he didn't know why.

"W-..what happened?" He questioned, words slurring slightly.

"Oh, you're awake, Lloyd!" A voice exclaimed from the other side of the room. When his gaze followed the words, he found Colette sitting in the chair next to his bed. The others he could see were hanging around in the kitchen. As soon as they heard Colette's exclamation, however, they looked towards his room and immediately began moving towards it.

"I was so afraid you weren't going to wake up. But Kratos said that it would take a couple days for the crest to take affect, but...but..." The blonde Chosen was crying now. It took a moment for her words to register in Lloyd's head, but as soon as they did, he looked towards the others.

"Kratos is here? And did you say days?"

Kratos took that moment to push his way through Lloyd's friends who had gathered in the doorway, "I am here, Lloyd. And yes, you have been asleep for three days. Most likely recovering from the Crystal's affects on your body." There was a slight hint of guilt in the Seraph's eyes as he said the word crystal, as if it were his fault. In truth, it was, or at least, that's what the auburn haired man thought, anyways.

"Oh..." Lloyd murmured, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, what'd I miss?"

"Not much," Genis spoke, "We pretty much sat here and watched in case Yggdrasil came back."

Lloyd flinched at the Cruxis leaders name. It brought up some painfully odd memories. But...but the burning sensation on his neck, was that a good thing or a bad thing? More importantly, what had happened to that creepy guy from before? He didn't seem to be around now, considering Lloyd actually had control of himself now but...

"Oh yeah! Altessa finished your Crest. You're wearing it now." Colette said, a smile on her face.

"How do you feel?" The question came from Kratos, who was sitting in the other chair next to his bed.

"Tired, but other than that I'm pretty good." He yawned, thinking that it was better that he didn't mention the throbbing pain on his neck. They had already been through enough on his behalf. Now they needed to move on with their journey. They'd taken up too much time worrying about him. Not only that, but they had to figure out exactly how they were going to fix the worlds. Glancing back up at Kratos, he realized the man had been speaking the entire time he'd been thinking.

"Lloyd? Were you even listening?" Genis asked, a sarcastic gleam in his eyes.

"Sorry, zoned out." Lloyd murmured, looking at Kratos, "You were saying?"

"We can discuss it later. Get some more rest, Lloyd. I imagine you want to sleep more."

With a sleepy nod, Lloyd laid himself back down, pulling the covers up to his chin and sighing in relief as the waves of unconsciousness swept his mind once more. However, despite his worries, there were no dreams this time. Just peaceful, restful sleep. It went on for quite some time, his sleeping. He woke once more not six hours later.

To his surprise, he couldn't move.

"W-what the hell?" Came his scratchy exclamation in surprise.

"If you want your friends to live, you will shut your mouth." A cold voice responded.

Lloyd found himself stuck with the urge to scream, but he kept quiet, heeding the blonde mans words. If he could quiver in frustration, he would be doing that as well. But that was beside the point. He knew that voice. Brown eyes, the only part of his body that could actually move (besides his mouth) flickered upwards and met the cold, hard gaze of Yggdrasil himself. A wicked grin covered the angels face.

"Now, let us go."

With that, Lloyd was lifted from the bed and carried towards the door. His body lay limp in Yggdrasil arms, but he could still see the passed out forms that littered the floor. It took his drowsy mind a moment to register who they were. His friends! Glaring up towards the blonde Cruxis leader, he fought for a moment to speak.

"What did you do to them?"

"Nothing. It was your Chosen friend that drugged them. No worries, they are still alive. Just frozen in a state of unconsciousness. They will awaken in a few hours. However, at that point, we will already be miles away from here." The grin on Yggdrasil's face only seemed to grow more frightening as he set Lloyd down on the ground outside, "Now, to remove this worthless crest."

As the circular object was removed, Lloyd couldn't hold back the scream of agony that left his throat, nor could he stop the darkness that swam around his vision. No matter how hard he fought it, he could feel himself being pulled back into that dark expanse that he had been trapped in previously. A chocked, 'No' left his lips before he was fully pulled into that empty world.

Yggdrasil cackled as the veins spread once more over Lloyd's back.

xXxXx

When Kratos woke, he felt as if he had the worst hangover in the history of the world. However, after a moment of sitting completely still, he found that he was able to think clearly. Pushing himself, he stood and looked around the room. Lloyd's friends were beginning to wake as well. As he glanced around, an odd scent flooded his sense of smell.

Following the iron-y smell, he found that it led to Altessa's work space. But why would there be blood here? Not but a brief look into the room told him all he needed to know. With a frown, he ran from the room and back to the dining room where Lloyd's group were pulling themselves together. He paid them no heed as he headed to where Lloyd should have been.

To his dismay, his son was not there.

"Where is he?" Raine questioned as she entered the room.

"I believe it was Yggdrasil." Kratos responded as he turned to face the half-elf, "However, there is a bigger issue. Altessa is severely wounded. Go heal him, and then take him to Flanoir. There is a doctor there who can help him. In the meantime, I will go and try to rescue Lloyd." The plan was poorly thought out, but it would have to do, for none of them had time to think.

"Wait. How can we be sure to trust you with Lloyd?" Genis questioned, crossing his arms.

Another question was asked, this time from Sheena, "Where's Zelos?"

"And why is this here?" Regal held up the Star Crest as he entered the room.

Kratos's eyes widened. Reaching forward, he took the crest from Regal and murmured, "Where did you find this?" The blue haired convict pointed towards the door that led outside. Following the mans directions, he exited the house and knelt on the ground. Sure enough, there were signs that a something heavy had been placed on the dirt. Turning to face the door again, he found that some of Lloyd's friends had followed him out, "We must hurry. Lloyd will not last long without this."

With that, Kratos summoned his wings and took off towards the Tower. Despite how much he wanted to just teleport himself there, he knew that the others would not trust him enough. They would worry. Frowning deeply, he listened as the Rehairds started up behind him. Clutching the crest, he pushed down hard with his wings and forced himself to move as quickly as he could.

Behind him, Genis, Colette and Regal followed closely.

xXxXx

Lloyd cursed as soon as he opened his eyes. He was once again surrounded by that same, creeping darkness. Turning himself, he found the white room on the other side of that weird, glass-like wall to be empty. But he was back on the dark side. Did that have something to do with the control of that weird crystal spirit guy? Placing a hand on the wall, he noted how cool it felt.

_"Lloyd."_

He flinched, almost expecting something to claw at him, but then he realized that it was the same soft, caring voice of the one from before. The one who he believed to be his mother. However, her voice was quiet, pained almost. As if she barely had enough strength to speak to him. That worried him greatly. Looking around, he tried to pinpoint her location, but failed.

"Where are you?"

_"There is not much time. You must hurry and fight. Break the wall that separates the two rooms. Only then will I be able to stop the crystal." _His mother's voice got weaker and weaker as she spoke. It sounded like she was getting further and further away. Or weaker.

Furiously, Lloyd began to pound on the glass with his fist. When that didn't work, he stood and kicked at it. To no avail, the wall did not break. It didn't even crack. He scanned the room, trying to find an object that would be strong enough to break the seemingly reinforced barrier. There was nothing. He cried out in frustration, hitting the wall once more with his fist.

_"Calm down...use...powers..."_

Her voice was beginning to break up, but Lloyd understood most of it.

A spark of hope fluttered in his chest as he brought out his wings and began to chant.

_'I hope this works...'_

* * *

_**Me: **Hows that for suspense? Or is it not really? xD  
**Lloyd:** Kind of. Might be predictable. But that also may be because you know what's going to happen next. Either way, I'm sure your readers will enjoy the ending.  
**Me:** Well, let's hope it isn't, then.  
**Lloyd:** Agreed.  
**Me:** Review? Please? owo They make me happeh!_


	46. In Finem

**Ch. 46: In Finem**

**_Young:_**_ Note, title means "the end". xD Sounded cooler. Anyways, this truly is the end. The final chapter. Their may or may not be an epilogue to explain what happens afterwards, but I'm still deciding. xD I will go on more at the end, cause I want to get right into this.  
__**Lloyd:** Its been a fun time, I guess. I enjoyed being your muse.  
__**Me:** Agreed. I had fun, Lloyd. Disclaim me one final time?  
_**Lloyd: **Of course. Young doesn't own ToS or Namco.  
**_Me:_ **_Onward!_

* * *

Lloyd continued his chanting, eyes closed as he furiously gathered his power about him. He couldn't fail, not when his own life, not to mention the lives of his friends was on the line. Fists clenched, wings out, he shouted out the final verse of his chant, "Judgement!" With that, he shoved all of the mana he'd gathered outward, briefly wondering what kind of repercussions this spell would have on his state of mind.

As the spell struck the walls, Lloyd felt himself falling unconscious.

xXxXx

Kratos practically ran up the stairs, hearing the other's land their Rehairds behind him. Glancing back to them, he focused his energy and brought out his own cerulean wings. Placing a hand on the oracle stone, he watched as the door to the Tower slid open. Any Cruxis member could open the door, but it was only in case of emergencies. He considered this to be one. But something was off, it was as if the door had been opened before they'd gotten there.

"C'mon Kratos, we've got to hurry!" Genis shouted as he dashed past the angel.

Nodding, the auburn haired man chased after them. He had to hurry. Yggdrasil was a dangerous man, and he knew that he could make Lloyd do anything he wanted as long as his son was wearing that damned crystal. This was his fault, as well, considering he had been the one to force the Cruxis leader into making the gem in the first place, but that could be thought about later.

As they reached the warp pad, Kratos couldn't help the feeling of apprehension that entered his thoughts. What would he find when they finally arrived? Shaking away the unwanted thoughts he forced himself to concentrate and kept a frown on his face as he and the others appeared in the seal room, but even he couldn't hold back a look of shock as they saw who was gathered there.

Lloyd stood next to Yggdrasil, hair long, and eyes a dark black.

But next to them, stood-

"Zelos!" Regal gasped, glaring.

"Hey there, guys. Took you long enough. Didja have a nice rest?" The redhead asked, grinning like a fool. But what surprised them the most was that he had one hand placed on Lloyd's shoulder, and there were a pair of golden wings sprouting from his back. His blue eyes narrowed dangerously, with an odd glint in them, "I would guess not, considering most of you slept on the floor."

"Why are you here, Zelos?" Colette asked, stepping forward. Genis held out a hand to stop her.

"Isn't it obvious? I side with the strongest, and frankly, you guys are way outnumbered."

Genis glared, pulling out his kendama, "We trusted you!"

Yggdrasil sighed, placing his hands on his hips. Faking a yawn, he murmured lazily, "Zelos, I grow tired of these inferior beings. Kill them, but leave the Chosen and Kratos alive. Kratos can still be of use to us with the proper...inspiration." With that, the blonde leader moved to stand by Lloyd, watching as the redheaded Chosen floated forward towards the group.

"Do not do this, Zelos. You are better than this. Would you really leave Lloyd in the hands of this maniac? We do not wish to harm you." Regal spoke. Though his words were friendly enough, he bent his knees and prepared to lunge forward should the angel strike. It pained him to see both of his friends standing side by side with a criminal who had wronged so many people. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he murmured, "Don't forget the crimes that this man has committed."

"Everyone deserves _forgiveness_, Regal. You of all people should know this. After all, didn't you murder someone? Aren't you just the same as he is?" Zelos slowly pulled his sword from it's sheath, readying his shield and tensing his muscles as if he were going to spring. He froze for a moment, though, when Colette moved in front of the others, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Zelos! Don't do this! I know that you're a good person at heart! Whatever Yggdrasil said, please don't listen to him! You're our friend and I know that you would never hurt us. So, please, Zelos." Her voice pleaded, echoing in the open space of the Tower. Her blue eyes were filled with worry, and tears shimmered at their edges.

"I...side with the strongest," There was the barest hint of hesitation in his voice, but when his eyes locked with hers again, his stare was determined, "Like I said before, you guys are on the losing side." With that, he shifted his grip on his blade, and dashed forward. Colette barely had time to dodge out of the way, but behind her, Regal was ready.

He caught Zelos's attack on his shin guard and pushed off. Not even a second later, a chakram flew towards the redhead's abdomen. Said angel flipped backwards, avoiding the attack. Regal dashed forward once more, kicking out with one foot. As soon as that foot hit the ground he lifted his other to strike once more. Colette's voice could be heard quietly chanting in the background.

Kratos moved towards the back of the battle, having noted that he was the only one with substantial healing abilities. Mostly because Regal's were limited to distance. Genis stood next to him, muttering spells under his breath as quickly as he could. On the front lines, Colette flew forward, slashing out with a chakram, but Zelos was quick, and he managed to dodge and swipe his sword outward. For a moment, things moved in slow motion, but suddenly Regal was there, pushing Colette and wincing as the blade sliced through his side. There was a pause before green mana swirled over the wound and healed it.

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed throughout the tower, chanting.

Cursing, Kratos realized what spell it was, and looked towards Lloyd. Sure enough the angel was chanting, wings out and mana glowing around him. Strangely enough, he was alone, but the Seraph ignored that fact for the time being and kept on running. Before he could push the boy over like had intended to, there was a suddenly pain in his midsection.

Eyes wide, he groaned as the blade was pulled from his stomach.

Then, Genis was by him, murmuring, "Don't worry, I got you covered." The pain dulled.

There was a flash of blue, and Regal was kicking Lloyd over. The brunette reacted quickly and rolled, standing up once more and readying his twin blades to strike as the man ran towards him. Suddenly, one of Colette's chakrams whirled through the air, knocking the teen over. Just before he hit the ground, the sound of shattering filled the Tower. Kratos' eyes flew to his son, and saw him laying on the ground, surrounded by white shards.

The auburn haired man crawled towards his son, wondering if he was alright.

After a moment, Lloyd shot up, and blinked in confusion.

"W...where am I?"

A smile broke out on Kratos' face. An actual smile.

"Why are you...wait, you can smile?" Lloyd's eyes went wide.

And then everyone was laughing. It went on for a while, until the twin swordsman's eyes finally landed on the body laying in the distance. His chocolate eyes widened, and he ran forward, despite his tiredness. Kneeling by the redhead, he wondered what had happened. The others had explained it to him, but he couldn't believe that Zelos would betray them like that. Not without a good reason.

"Hey...bud." Came the quiet words.

"Zelos, why?"

There was a dry chuckle before the magic swordsman responded, "I guess this was kind of pointless, then, eh?" The hand that had been previously holding his sword opened to reveal a small crest that looked very similar to the Star Crest. After a second, Lloyd realized that it was the crest, "Oh well...tell everyone I'm sorry about what I did." Blue eyes closed.

Lloyd's eyes widened and he turned to face Kratos and the others, who had joined him, "Dad! You gotta heal him!" Said man sighed, but nodded. He didn't quite trust Zelos, but he did apologize, and it appeared that he did have a reason. Even if it was an odd one. He made a mental note to ask the redhead about what he planned to do as he knelt by him and began to murmur a healing spell.

Soon enough, they were heading out of the Tower, Lloyd murmuring with a smirk, "C'mon guys, we've got a world to save." With that, they exited. When they got outside, they saw that the other's had arrived, and were preparing themselves to enter. Lloyd waved when he saw them, still grinning like a fool, "Hey guys! Long time no see!" He briefly wondered if it were too soon to joke.

However, they all broke into smiles when they saw him, normal as ever.

No one noticed that the crack in his exsphere was gone, as if it were never there.

* * *

_So yeah, the ending wasn't the best, but I had had a good one typed out, but it got deleted, so...xD You're stuck with this. Anyways, I hope you liked it either way._

_Onto the sappy stuff._

_I really want to thank all of you that stuck with me for so long. All of you that stuck with me through my really late updates, my short chapters, all of it. Even the ones who favorited, alerted, and reviewed, you all kept me going. You all proved myself wrong when I was thinking, "I can't finish this story." But look here, I did. And I'm proud of it. So thanks. I really appreciate all of you._

_Forever Yours,_

_-The Forever Young One_

_P.S. Review and tell me whether or not you want an epilogue. Though I currently have no idea what I would actually write, I could probably figure something out. Again, thanks for reading!_


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